Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

89 Strategies
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Flexible scheduling

Offer employees control over an aspect of their schedule through arrangements such as flex time, flex hours, compressed work weeks, or self-scheduled shift work
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

Food buying clubs & co-ops

Offer opportunities for group purchase and distribution of selected grocery items, generally at a reduced price
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate
  • Civic and community resources

Food hubs

Support businesses or organizations that aggregate, distribute, and market local and regional food products (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, and prepared items)
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate
  • Civic and community resources

Full child support pass-through and disregard

Adopt policies that allow custodial parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to collect all child support paid by the non-custodial parent; no portion is retained by the state
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Green space & parks

Increase green space through new parks or open spaces, renovation or enhancement of under-used recreation areas, rehabilitation of vacant lots, brownfields, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Civic and community resources
  • Climate

Grocery, housing & utilities cooperatives

Establish a non-share capital cooperative model in which fee-paying members can share the communal resources of a grocery, house, or utility cooperative
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Governance

High school equivalency credentials

Offer programs to help individuals without a high school diploma or its equivalent achieve a high school equivalency credential
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Education
  • Income, employment and wealth

Housing reparations

Apologize for discriminatory housing policies; increase subsidies, financing, and paths to homeownership for people of color; and invest in systematically disadvantaged neighborhoods
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth
  • Housing and transportation
  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies
  • Worldviews, culture and norms

Housing trust funds

Support funds that help create or maintain affordable housing, subsidize rental housing, and assist homebuyers with low incomes and non-profit housing developers
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Budgets

Inclusionary zoning & housing policies

Require developers to reserve a proportion of housing units for residents with low incomes via mandatory requirements or incentives, such as density bonuses
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Air, water and land
  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies