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The Community Guide in Action
Community Guide in Action stories feature decision makers, program planners, employers, and leaders from across the country who have used The Community Guide to make people safer and healthier. View an interactive map to find stories from your state.
Vaccination
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
A Good Shot: Reaching Immunization Targets in Duval County
The Duval County Health Department in Jacksonville, Florida was challenged with low childhood immunization rates, particularly in its urban core. By implementing a quality improvement strategy that combined multiple Community Guide recommendations, they reached the national target within one year. (Released 2012)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation
American Cancer Society and Community Health Centers Partner to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening
Two community health centers – one in South Central Texas and another in New Orleans – saw dramatic increases in colorectal cancer screening rates following implementation of CPSTF-recommended multicomponent interventions. The American Cancer Society partnered with these health centers to implement the interventions which combined approaches reviewed by the CPSTF and reduced structural barriers among underserved populations. (Released 2019)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Criminal Justice System, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Help Community Understand Health Issues
AMIGAS: Promoting Cervical Cancer Screening among Hispanic Women
The AMIGAS program engaged community health workers, or promotoras, to deliver a multicomponent intervention that doubled the rate of cervical cancer screening among Mexican-American women in Texas and Washington. Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations were used to inform the selection of program components which included one-on-one education and small media. (Released 2018)
Asthma, Diabetes, Tobacco, Vaccination
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Home, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
An Evidence-Based Approach to Montana's Health Landscape
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services turns to The Community Guide as a primary resource for program planning, funding applications, and partner collaboration, and has used Task Force findings to develop programs aimed at increasing vaccinations, reducing tobacco use, and controlling asthma. (Released 2012)
Physical Activity, Worksite Health
Setting
Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue
At MD Anderson, Wellness Starts in the Neighborhood
MD Anderson Cancer Center wanted to create an employee wellness program for the nearly 20,000 employees spread across its massive Houston campus. The center’s former wellness officer, William B. Baun, EPD, CWP, FAWHP, used evidence-based approaches from the Guide to Community Preventive Services to develop tailored wellness programs for each “neighborhood” in the campus. These programs included Be Well stations with workout equipment and social support interventions. Employee buy-in and neighborhood ownership made a big difference in creating culture change with a focus in employee wellness. (Released 2017)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Black Corals: A Gem of Cancer Screening Program in South Carolina
In rural South Carolina the risk of cancer-related death is a complex public health problem. The St. James-Santee Family Health Center launched Black Corals to increase cancer screening among women. The Community Guide served as a resource to help the Black Corals program dramatically increase breast and cervical cancer screenings in their community. (Released 2012)
Adolescent Health, Cancer, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Oral Health, Tobacco, Worksite Health
Setting
Business/Retail, Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Blueprint for Success in Reducing Tobacco Use
The City of Lincoln and Lancaster County, Nebraska used Community Guide recommendations to build a plan to lessen tobacco use. Their approach led to county-wide reductions in tobacco use, and led to the state's decision to model their smoking ban on the one developed by the City of Lincoln, and eventually, to monumental state-wide policy changes. (Released 2012)
Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program
BuchananCares Program: A Team-based Care Pilot led by a Rural Community Hospital and Local Pharmacist
A team of clinical health professionals from the Appalachian College of Pharmacy 
and Buchanan General Hospital in Virginia piloted a program, BuchananCares, using CPSTF recommendations and CDC resources, and helped to reduce hospital readmissions and improve medication use for patients with COPD, diabetes, heart failure, and pneumonia. (Released 2022)
Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Motor Vehicle Injury
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Buckle Up Yurok
The California Rural Indian Health Board received a grant from CDC to develop a motor vehicle injury prevention program for the Yurok Tribe in California. The reservation saw increased child safety seat use each year after the program began. (Released 2015)
Physical Activity, Worksite Health
Setting
Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Help Community Understand Health Issues
Championing Worksite Wellness in Green Bay: Using Evidence-Based Recommendations to Improve Employee Health
The City of Green Bay’s employee wellness program, Health|1265, used a combination of strategies including Move with the Mayor™, which is based on CPSTF recommendations, to support and improve employee health. As a result, the City of Green Bay’s employees have taken nearly 700 million steps together and the city has saved $1M and experienced a 30% decrease in employee hospitalization. Green Bay’s Mayor Genrich is working to spread the success of Health|1265 program to the entire city using CPSTF recommendations for built environments and active travel to school. (Released 2020)
Excessive Alcohol Consumption, Social Determinants of Health, Obesity, Physical Activity, Tobacco
Setting
Community, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Help Community Understand Health Issues
CityHealth Gives Local Communities Evidence-Based Tools to Improve Health
CityHealth provides city leaders with a package of evidence-based policy solutions that will help people live longer, better lives. Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations are among the evidence-based resources CityHealth considered in their selection of policy solutions. (Released 2018)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Fill Evidence Gap, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Community Cancer Screening Program: Implementing Interventions to Address Disparities
The Cancer Coalition of South Georgia used recommendations from The Community Guide to reduce cancer-related disparities in a largely rural, medically underserved region in the state. The Community Cancer Screening Program™ started as a pilot program and now serves more than 25 counties in southern Georgia. (Released 2015)
Nutrition, Obesity
Setting
Community
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Help Community Understand Health Issues
Community-Academic Partnerships: A Win for Communities, Schools, and Public Health - Improving Nutrition in a Faith-Based Setting
Faculty and students from Georgia College worked with churches in nearby counties to develop a program that improved the nutritional habits of more than 600 residents. CPSTF findings informed decisions about how to use limited resources to foster a positive learning experience for students while meeting a community’s needs. (Released 2020)
Adolescent Health, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Tobacco
Setting
Business/Retail, Community, Rural, School, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Community-Wide Effort to Make Florida Tobacco Free
Florida public health practitioners, community advocates, and residents joined forces to change state policy in order to stem tobacco related health issues. Evidence-based interventions, like the ones found in The Community Guide, were applied across the state and led to substantial reductions in tobacco use and personal health care expenditures. (Released 2012)
Physical Activity
Setting
Community, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate, Seek Funding
CPSTF Built Environment Recommendation Gets Communities Moving
National and local organizations used the CPSTF recommendation for combined built environment approaches to promote physical activity among Americans. Creating ways for people to move more has immediate and long-term health benefits. Both small and large communities developed and strengthened plans to improve built environment approaches for their residents such as transportation systems, bike paths and parks. CityHealth, a project of The de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, included built environment initiatives as part of their recommended public health policies to improve public health in cities. (Released 2019)
Diabetes, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Community, Recreation, Rural, School, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Creating Walkable Communities in Rural North Carolina
Granville County, North Carolina wanted to reduce the health-related risks associated with obesity by increasing physical activity among residents. Using The Community Guide as a resource, the county created a plan—Granville Greenways Master Plan—to make physical activity more accessible by creating more walkable communities. (Released 2012)
Adolescent Health, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Rural, School, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP
Enhanced Physical Education in Illinois: Improving Health and Reducing Chronic Disease
In Illinois, one in three children are overweight or obese and at increased risk for chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Concerns of rising obesity rates led policymakers in Illinois to develop and implement an enhanced physical education program in schools based on evidence-based intervention strategies from The Community Guide. (Released 2016)
Read the previous Community Guide in Action story, Reducing Obesity Rates in Illinois: Path to Enhanced Physical Education 
[PDF - 409 kB], to learn more about the state’s efforts to improve students’ health.
Cancer, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Diabetes, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity, Tobacco, Worksite Health
Setting
Community, Recreation, Rural, School, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Evidence-Based Recommendations Get Minnesotans in the Groove
As chronic disease weighs on the nation's health, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has launched a long-term health initiative aimed at getting Minnesotans up, active, and embracing a healthier lifestyle through the use of evidence-based strategies found in The Community Guide. (Released 2012)
Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Community, Home, Recreation, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate, Seek Funding, Identify/Apply for Funding
Familias Sanas y Activas: Improving Health among Latinos in San Diego
The San Diego Prevention Research Center is improving the health of Latinos in the city with a free physical activity program. Weekly exercise classes are held throughout the community. (Released 2015)
Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity, Tobacco
Setting
Rural, School, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Prepare for Accreditation, Identify/Apply for Funding
Healthy Schools Equal Healthy Kids
The Northern Kentucky Health Department used health-related policy and environmental findings from the Task Force to improve the health of school environments in the region. The health department used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Index to measure those improvements. (Released 2015)
Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity, Tobacco, Worksite Health
Setting
Community, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Investing in Worksite Wellness for Employees
The Dow Chemical Company's health promotion program is part of an integrated health strategy to improve the health of its 52,000 employees around the world. Dow uses The Community Guide as a resource to shape these programs and address chronic disease risk factors such as obesity, physical activity, and tobacco use among its employees. (Released 2012)
Physical Activity
Setting
Community, Recreation, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
It Takes a Village: Rural Residents Help Make Their Community Healthier
Step Into Cuba is a community program to reduce chronic disease and improve the health of residents by increasing physical activity through access to natural environments. The program used Task Force findings to build and improve walking trails throughout the community. (Released 2015)
Excessive Alcohol Consumption, Motor Vehicle Injury
Setting
Community, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Lowering Legal Blood Alcohol Limits Saves Lives
Experts used The Community Guide's review process to examine the effectiveness of lowering the illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for automobile drivers. The results of this assessment formed the basis for the Task Force recommendation that 0.08 percent BAC laws are effective in reducing alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities. (Released 2012)
Setting
Rural, Urban
Use
Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Prepare for Accreditation, Identify/Apply for Funding
Maricopa County's Journey Toward Public Health Accreditation
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health serves over 3.8 million people, making it responsible for one of the largest territories of any local health department in the country. In one of their largest improvement efforts yet, they used The Community Guide to identify evidence-based programs, services, and policies in preparation for national public health department accreditation. (Released 2014)
Diabetes, Obesity, Worksite Health
Setting
Community, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
Maryland Businesses Support Worksite Wellness Effort to Combat Chronic Disease
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched an initiative to decrease obesity and diabetes by promoting wellness at worksites. They used The Community Guide as a resource to assess and influence changes in employees' health. As a result, more than 150 businesses made a commitment to workplace wellness options. (Released 2012)
Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Mobilizing Funding Support to Battle Overweight and Obesity
The Western Maryland Health System used a health strategy that systematically leveraged funding and partnerships as a way to reduce obesity in their region. They used The Community Guide as a resource to develop a strategy centered on behavioral, social, and environmental change, along with evidence-based approach to strengthen grant applications. (Released 2012)
Cancer, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Diabetes, Excessive Alcohol Consumption, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Social Determinants of Health, Mental Health, Physical Activity, Tobacco, Vaccination, Violence, Worksite Health
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP
Nebraska Panhandle Uses the Community Guide for Public Health Planning
While completing their community health assessments and developing a community health improvement plan, the Nebraska Panhandle Public Health District turned to The Community Guide. They referenced 28 different evidence-based Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommendations across 13 topic areas. The Nebraska Panhandle Public Health District also used Healthy People 2020 to set goals and objectives for improvement, matching them with CPSTF recommendations. (Released 2019)
Social Determinants of Health
Setting
Rural, School, Urban
Use
Nevada Lawmakers Expand Full-Day Kindergarten Statewide to Promote Health Equity
Researchers in Nevada used a CPSTF recommendation to inform a health impact assessment that examined the health benefits of providing full-day kindergarten throughout the state. The assessment found that increasing access to full-day kindergarten improves test scores, access to school meals, nutrition education and physical activity. The findings of the assessment led to the universal expansion of full-day kindergarten throughout Nevada. (Released 2019)
Cancer, Health Communication and Health Information Technology
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Help Community Understand Health Issues
New York: Increasing Cancer Screenings, Saving Lives
Cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases in New York, and is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of death. Each year, more than 100,000 New Yorkers are diagnosed. The New York State Department of Health Bureau of Cancer Prevention and Control coordinates multiple programs based on Task Force recommendations to increase the screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Interventions include client reminders, small media, mass media, and programs to reduce structural barriers. (Released 2017)
Read the previous Community Guide in Action story, Screening New Yorkers to Save Lives [PDF - 453 kB], to learn more about the state’s efforts to increase cancer screenings.
Adolescent Health, HIV, STIs and Teen Pregnancy, Physical Activity, Tobacco
Setting
Business/Retail, Community, Recreation, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Planning a Strategy: Changing the Way a County Health Department Addresses Health Conditions
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health addresses such diverse population health needs by including evidence-based approaches found in The Community Guide as a foundation for its strategic planning. Using evidence has helped them reduce rates of obesity, sexually transmitted infections, heart disease, tobacco use, and more. (Released 2012)
Cancer, Worksite Health
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
Practice What You Promote: Increasing Cancer Screening Rates Among Employees
The Michigan Cancer Consortium challenged its member-organizations to increase cancer screening rates among their employees. A wide variety of organizations—large and small, rural and urban, hospitals and health departments, and trade organizations—were able to improve cancer screening rates by using Task Force findings. (Released 2015)
Diabetes, Health Communication and Health Information Technology
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Prepare for Accreditation
Putting it all Together: Preventing Diabetes with Clinical and Community-Based Evidence
Of the eighty-six million Americans with prediabetes, nine out of 10 don’t know they have it. Prediabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The American Medical Association partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 to launch the national Prevent Diabetes STAT™ campaign to help manage prediabetes and its associated health risks. Using Task Force recommendations on evidence-based diabetes programs, Prevent Diabetes STAT™ aims to reduce the number of individuals with prediabetes who develop type 2 diabetes. (Released 2017)
Listen to an audio clip (7:21) of Drs. Christopher Holliday and Patrick Remington as they talk with CDC’s Dr. John Anderton about the development of the Prevent Diabetes STAT™ campaign and the benefits of drawing from evidence-based recommendations.
Download transcript [PDF - 170 kB]
Cancer, Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity, Tobacco, Worksite Health
Setting
Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue
Putting the Community Guide to Work at Workplaces: Partnering to Reach Employers
In partnership with the American Cancer Society, the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center – supported by CDC – developed Workplace Solutions and HealthLinks. These two worksite wellness programs are based on evidence-based recommendations from The Community Guide. (Released 2014)
Adolescent Health, Social Determinants of Health, Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Community, Rural, School
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Rural Community Works Together to Stay "Fun and Fit"
The tribal communities in rural Hoonah, Alaska used The Community Guide as a resource to help counter the increasing rates of obesity. They partnered with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services to expand access to places for physical activity and get the community moving. (Released 2012)
Social Determinants of Health
Setting
School
Use
Address Health Issue, Help Community Understand Health Issues
School Attendance and Health on the Rise with Hawai‛i Keiki Program
Hawai‛i Keiki, a program formed through the partnership between the Hawai‛i Department of Education and the University of Hawai‛i at Mānoa, used The Community Guide to substantially improve student attendance and promote health equity. They provided schools with trained nurses and established CPSTF-recommended school-based health centers (SBHCs) to offer treatment and preventive health care. Before the SBHCs were established, 90% of students with illnesses or injuries were sent home. With Hawai‛i Keiki, 90% of these students are treated and sent back to class to learn. (Released 2019)
Setting
Rural, School, Urban
Use
Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate
The Community Guide in the Classroom: Training Future Professionals
Instructors in public health at three separate universities share how they use The Community Guide in their classrooms. Undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of academic backgrounds learned the importance of using evidence to guide practice and program development. (Released 2015)
Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Motor Vehicle Injury
Setting
Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Strengthen Accreditation Application
Tightening the Belt: Increasing Occupant Restraint Use on the Hopi Reservation
The Hopi Tribe in Arizona also received a grant from CDC to develop a motor vehicle injury prevention program. Over the four years of the program, both safety belt and child safety seat use increased. (Released 2015)
Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Obesity, Physical Activity, Worksite Health
Setting
Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue
Using Innovative Technology to Increase Physical Activity
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) used Task Force recommendations to help inform the design of its Active Track program. Employees who participate in the program can compete with their peers in activity challenges and earn reward points for their achievements. (Released 2015)
Adolescent Health, Violence
Setting
Rural, School, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue
YouthAlert! Uses Teamwork and Education to Prevent Youth Violence
A Kentucky-based youth violence prevention program used universal school-based interventions recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force as the foundation for a state-wide campaign to reduce and prevent youth violence. After reaching thousands of teens across Kentucky, the program plans to expand nationwide and offer evidence-based, tailored approaches for teaching violence prevention. (Released 2017)
