Strategies

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

108 Strategies
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Rent regulation policies

Establish tenant protections via regulations to the housing rental market such as limits on rent increases and eviction protections for tenants with low incomes; typically via rent stabilization
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Restaurant nutrition labeling

Provide nutrition information on menus and signboards at restaurants and other food outlets
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Rural transportation services

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

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

Societal Rules

  • Budgets
  • Worldviews, culture and norms

Safe Routes to Schools

Promote walking and biking to school through education, incentives, and environmental changes; often called SRTS
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

School breakfast programs

Support programs to provide students with a nutritious breakfast in the cafeteria, from grab and go carts in hallways, or in classrooms
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Education
  • Diet and exercise

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

School food & beverage restrictions

Limit access to competitive foods and beverages in schools via restrictions on foods that are not provided through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

School fruit & vegetable gardens

Establish designated areas where students can garden with guidance, often with nutrition and food preparation lessons and opportunities for taste tasting and hands-on learning
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

School fundraiser restrictions

Prohibit the sale of unhealthy foods such as sugar sweetened beverages, candy, and other non-nutritious snacks at school fundraisers, often as part of a broader nutrition policy
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

School nutrition standards

Regulate the quality of food that can be sold to students through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), à la carte options, vending machines, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

School-based nutrition education programs

Address nutrition in schools via educational (e.g., classroom or curricula-wide efforts, peer training, etc.), environmental (e.g., school menus, classroom snacks, etc.), and other approaches
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise