Technical Appendix
Research Sources Used in the Development of the Menu of Systems Change Strategies
In creating this menu, we strived to only include strategies with supporting empirical evidence. The following sources provided the foundation for this information:
“The All-In Cities Toolkit offers actionable strategies that advocates and policymakers can use to advance racial equity. Select a policy area below to view key strategies and policy tools. Each tool contains information on important policy considerations, who can implement it, and examples of where it is working.”
ASTHO Essentials for Childhood
This guide, created by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), “presents an overview of the state health department’s role in informing policy and lays out several policy options for states and other partners to consider when working to create the context for healthy children and families”. The discussed policy options, divided into three categories, “reflect the best available evidence for what works to promote safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments, ones that prevent child abuse and neglect and reduce risk factors for child abuse and neglect.”
“The Best Evidence Encyclopedia is a free website created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) under funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. It is intended to give educators and researchers fair and useful information about the strength of the evidence supporting a variety of programs available for students in grades K-12.”
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
“Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development provides a registry of evidence-based positive youth development programs designed to promote the health and well-being of children and teens. Blueprints programs are family, school, and community-based and target all levels of need — from broad prevention programs that promote positive behaviors while decreasing negative behaviors, to highly-targeted programs for at-risk children and troubled teens that get them back on track.” It is important to note that any program included in this registry meets a high level of evaluation rigor, even if it is not designated as “model.”
Note: Though these interventions are focused on the individual/relationship levels of the socio-ecological model, the strategies recommended in this manual help to institutionalize the use of evidence-based programs like those listed in the Blueprints.
Compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), these research papers explore the social determinants of health across five main categories and include strategies and resources specific to each.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Related Risk Behaviors”
“This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent youth violence and its consequences.”
CityHealth is a project of the de Beaumont Foundation and provides resources, evidence and information on city/community level policies. City Health includes policies on employment benefits, education, affordable housing and more.
Colorado Statewide Youth Development Plan
“The Colorado Statewide Youth Development Plan presents a vision for a strong youth development network and strategies for improving an array of youth-focused policies, practices, and programs. At the core of the vision and strategies is the incorporation of positive youth development principles into the services and programs for youth ages 9 to 25 in Colorado.”
“The Community Guide is a collection of evidence-based findings of the Community Preventive Services Task Force. The Community Preventive Services Task Force was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in 1996 to develop guidance on which community-based health promotion and disease prevention intervention approaches work and which do not work, based on available scientific evidence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the DHHS agency that provides the Task Force with technical and administrative support.”
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHR&R)
“CHR&R is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute [that] provides data, evidence, guidance, and examples to build awareness of the multiple factors that influence health and support leaders in growing community power to improve health equity. The Rankings are unique in their ability to measure the health of nearly every county in all 50 states, and are complemented by guidance, tools, and resources designed to accelerate community learning and action. CHR&R is known for effectively translating and communicating complex data and evidence-informed policy into accessible models, reports, and products that deepen the understanding of what makes communities healthy and inspires and supports improvement efforts. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps’ work is rooted in a sincere belief in health equity, the idea that everyone deserves a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”
“The National Institute of Justice's CrimeSolutions.gov uses research to rate the effectiveness of programs and practices in achieving criminal justice related outcomes in order to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works, what doesn't, and what's promising in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.”
“Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health”
This report “explains the neurobiological basis for substance use disorders and provides the biological, psychological, and social frameworks for improving diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. It also describes evidence-based prevention strategies, such as public policies that can reduce substance misuse problems (e.g., driving under the influence [DUI]); effective treatment strategies, including medications and behavioral therapies for treating substance use disorders; and RSS for people who have completed treatment.” Appendix 2 includes a list of community-level interventions that are evidence-based.
Healthy People 2030 Evidence-Based Resources
Healthy People 2030’s evidence-based resources (EBRs) are “reviews of published intervention evaluations or studies that have evidence of effectiveness, feasibility, reach, sustainability, and transferability. Federal subject matter experts with different backgrounds and areas of expertise identified the Healthy People 2030 EBRs. EBRs are grouped by topic, and each EBR is related to one or more Healthy People 2030 objectives.”
“Prevention Programs that Address Youth Marijuana Use: Using Prevention Research to Guide Prevention Practice” from The Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT)
“Drawing from national databases and registries of effective programs and practices, this document provides summaries of interventions that have been shown to prevent or reduce marijuana use among youth populations. The interventions included in this document meet the following criteria:
Evaluations tested for intervention outcomes related to youth marijuana initiation or (ab)use and yielded statistically significant marijuana use results.
Interventions were identified as effective, model, or promising.”
SAMSHA’s Substance Misuse Prevention for Young Adults
“This guide discusses effective prevention practices to mitigate risk factors associated with substance misuse and promote protective factors among: all young adults generally; young adults at significantly higher risk for substance misuse; and young adults who are not diagnosed with a SUD but are engaging in substance misuse…[It] was developed with input from an expert panel made up of federal, state, and non-federal participants. The expert panel provided input based on their knowledge of health care systems, implementation, evidence-based practices, provision of services, and policies that foster change.”
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP)
“NREPP is a searchable inventory of more than 350 substance abuse and mental health interventions across the socio-ecological approach for reducing adolescent substance abuse.”
Note: As of 1/2018, the registry is no longer being updated until further notice.
University of Washington’s Center for Communities That Care
“The UW Center for Communities That Care distributes the CTC system. We help communities learn about CTC and install it — and offer personalized support in its implementation.”
“The What Works Clearinghouse is an investment of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education that was established in 2002. The work of the WWC is managed by a team of staff at IES and conducted under a set of contracts held by several leading firms with expertise in education, research methodology, and the dissemination of education research.”
Other registries that may be helpful to this work, though not specifically referenced within the Menu of Strategies:
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
“The CEBC helps to identify and disseminate information regarding evidence-based practices relevant to child welfare. Evidence-based practices are those that have empirical research supporting their efficacy. The CEBC Program Registry provides information on both evidence-based and non-evidence-based child welfare related practices to statewide agencies, counties, public and private organizations, and individuals.”
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
“Our mission is to help make evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) an integral part of education from preschool through high school.”
The CASEL Program Guide provides a systematic framework for evaluating the quality of classroom-based SEL programs. It uses this framework to rate and identify well-designed, evidence-based SEL programs with potential for broad dissemination to schools across the United States. The primary goal of the Guide is to give educators information for selecting and implementing SEL programs in their districts and schools.”
“The Rural Health Information Hub, formerly the Rural Assistance Center, is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to be a national clearinghouse on rural health issues. We are committed to supporting healthcare and population health in rural communities. The RHIhub is your guide to improving health for rural residents—we provide access to current and reliable resources and tools to help you learn about rural health needs and work to address them.”