Strategies

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

76 Strategies
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Proper drug disposal programs

Establish programs that accept expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from designated users and dispose of them responsibly

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Alcohol and Drug Use
  • Air and Water Quality

Publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs

Provide publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) education to 3- and 4-year-olds, through large-scale or universal efforts

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Rain gardens & other bioretention systems

Establish bioretention systems (e.g., rain gardens, bioretention cells, green roofs, planter boxes, bioswales, etc.) to make city landscapes more permeable to help control stormwater

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Air and Water Quality

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

Reproductive life plans

Establish plans consistent with personal values and current life circumstances that set goals related to having or not having children; goals often change over time

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Access to Care

Retail clinics

Establish clinics in retail stores that provide basic services for minor illnesses (e.g., sore throats or skin conditions) and procedures (e.g., immunizations, pregnancy testing, routine lab tests); also known as retail pharmacy, walk-in, or convenient care clinics

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Access to Care

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
  • Access to Care
  • Housing and Transit

School and district level zero tolerance policies

Require school officials to apply predetermined consequences for certain infractions, regardless of situational context or circumstances; consequences are usually severe (e.g., suspension or expulsion)

Evidence Rating:
Evidence of Ineffectiveness
  • Education

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
  • Education
  • Diet and Exercise

School dental programs

Provide sealants, fluoride treatment, screening, and other preventive dental care on school grounds via partnerships with dental professionals

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Access to Care

School-based health centers

Provide health care services on school premises to attending elementary, middle, and high school students; physical and mental health services provided by teams of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education
  • Access to Care

Scrap programs for old vehicles

Provide incentives to trade in old cars or light duty trucks with low fuel efficiency and high emissions and buy new vehicles with higher efficiency and lower emissions; also called scrappage or vehicle early retirement programs

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Air and Water Quality

Smoke-free policies for indoor areas

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking indoors or restrict it to designated, often outdoor, areas

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Tobacco Use

Smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking in and around multi-unit housing

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Tobacco Use

Statewide comprehensive tobacco programs

Coordinate state and community-level cessation and prevention interventions and provide information on the dangers of tobacco using a combination of educational, regulatory, clinical, social, and economic strategies

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Tobacco Use

Summer learning programs

Provide academic instruction to students during the summer, often along with enrichment activities such as art or outdoor activities

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Synthetic progesterone (17P) access

Ensure appropriate access to 17P, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, by identifying high-risk women, reducing barriers to treatment receipt and completion, coordinating care, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Access to Care

Technology enhanced classroom instruction

Incorporate technology into classroom instruction via computer-assisted instruction programs, computer-managed learning programs, use of interactive white boards, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Text message-based health interventions

Provide reminders, education, or self-management assistance for health conditions, especially chronic diseases, via text message

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Access to Care

Tobacco cessation therapy affordability

Reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs for tobacco cessation therapies such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and cessation counseling participation

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Tobacco Use

Tobacco quitlines

Deliver phone-based counseling to tobacco users who want to quit, usually with follow-up calls proactively scheduled after initial contact

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Tobacco Use

Tobacco retailer licensing

Require retailers to purchase licenses to sell tobacco products; retailers must follow all tobacco control laws to keep licenses

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Tobacco Use

Tobacco retailer location restrictions

Set the number, type, proximity, and density of tobacco retailers, especially near homes and schools, via state or local zoning, licensing restrictions, or other regulations

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Tobacco Use

Tobacco taxes

Increase tobacco price per unit through taxes at the federal, state, or local level

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Tobacco Use

Transitional and subsidized jobs

Establish time-limited, subsidized, paid jobs to help individuals with barriers to employment transition to unsubsidized employment

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Employment

Youth apprenticeship initiatives

Provide participating high school students with professional opportunities that combine academic and on-the-job training or mentorship

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Employment