Strategies

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

41 Strategies
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Medical homes

Provide continuous, comprehensive, whole person primary care that uses a coordinated team of medical providers across the health care system

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Quality of Care
  • Access to Care

Mentoring programs for high school graduation

Establish programs that connect students at risk of dropping out with trained adult mentors who provide ongoing guidance for academic and personal challenges

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Mentoring programs to prevent youth delinquency

Pair youth at risk for delinquent behavior with mentors to develop relationships and spend time at regular meetings for an extended period; mentors have greater knowledge, skills, etc. than mentees

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Neighborhood watch

Support the efforts of neighborhood residents to work together in preventing crime by reporting suspicious or potentially criminal behavior to local law enforcement

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Participatory budgeting

Engage community members to determine how public budgets are spent, ideally to improve neighborhood conditions and reduce inequality.

Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Preschool education programs

Provide center-based programs that support cognitive and social-emotional growth among children who are not old enough to enter formal schooling

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Public transportation systems

Introduce or expand transportation options that are available to the public and run on a scheduled timetable (e.g., buses, trains, ferries, rapid transit, etc.)

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Housing and Transit

Reach Out and Read

Partner with doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals to incorporate literacy support into regular well-child visits, especially in lower income communities

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Restorative justice in the criminal justice system

Use victim-offender dialogue to address the harm caused by a crime and victims’ needs; can take place pre-arrest or post sentence via sharing circles, victim-offender mediation, or face-to-face conferences

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Rollover protective structures (ROPS)

Attach metal bars, frames, or crush proof cabs to a tractor that provide a safety zone for an operator in the event of a rollover or overturn

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety