Program Settings for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

A settings approach to health promotion and disease prevention focuses identifying the environment — the places where people live, work, and play — and tailoring interventions to the setting and context. Choosing the right setting, and ensuring the intervention is aligned with that setting, can increase the likelihood of success because it accounts for the specific context of a place.

Common settings for health promotion and disease prevention programs include homes, worksites, schools, healthcare settings, and communities. The choice of setting may depend on the intended audience of the intervention, the health topic being addressed, or the desired outcomes of the intervention. Successful programs may implement interventions that incorporate activities in more than one setting.

Homes

Home-based programs allow families and individuals to receive services and support in their own home. In-home interventions can be particularly effective in rural communities, as they reduce the burden of travel to clinics or healthcare provider offices.

Examples of home-based early childhood health promotion programs are available in the Early Childhood Health Promotion Toolkit.

Worksites

Research demonstrates that worksite wellness programs improve overall workforce through improved employee wellness, increased productivity, improved employee retention, and decreased absenteeism. They are also shown to reduce the costs associated with injury and illness.

Schools

Schools provide an ideal setting to provide health services, nutrition programs, physical education, health education, and mental health services to young people. Schools play a key role in establishing a healthy lifestyle for children that can last a lifetime.

Examples of school-based health promotion and disease prevention programs are available in several evidence-based toolkits for community health:

• Early Childhood Health Promotion Toolkit
• Oral Health Toolkit
• Suicide Prevention Toolkit

Healthcare Settings

Healthcare providers and facilities play an instrumental role in improving the health of rural residents. Healthcare settings in rural areas have also adopted clinical models that support systems change and the way that care is delivered to patients managing and preventing chronic conditions and disease. These models include chronic disease management, community health worker/promotoras de salud, and the patient-centered medical home.

Communities

Some community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs use health communication and traditional behavior modification strategies to encourage change at the individual level. Other community-based interventions may use policy, systems, and environmental changes to increase the opportunities for community members to make healthy choices.

Examples of community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs are available in several evidence-based toolkits for community health:

• Early Childhood Health Promotion Toolkit
• Suicide Prevention Toolkit

Resources to Learn More

CDC Healthy Schools
Website
Provides resources, including data and research, for improving nutrition, physical activity, chronic conditions, and health services in schools.
Organization(s): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Defining the PCMH
Website
Defines the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) as including five key attributes: comprehensive care, patient-centered; coordinated care; accessible services; and quality and safety.
Organization(s): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Examples of Successful Community-Based Public Health Interventions (State-by-State)
Describes several state community-based interventions designed to reduce the burden of chronic disease and encourage people to become more physically active, not use tobacco, and eat healthier.
Organization(s): Trust for America's Health
Date: 9/2018

From Evidence to Practice: Workplace Wellness that Works
Document
Offers recommendations regarding the design, implementation, and evaluation of worksite wellness and health promotion programs.
Organization(s): Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Transamerica Center for Health Studies
Date: 9/2015

Schools - Evidence-Based Resources
Offers a collection of evidence-based resources to learn about implementing health promotion and disease prevention programs and policies in schools.
Organization(s): Health People 2030

Strides to a Healthier Worksite Wellness Challenge Tool Kit
Document
Promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for South Dakotans by guiding the development of a worksite wellness program to encourage and support healthier lifestyles for employees.
Organization(s): South Dakota Department of Health

Workplace - Evidence-Based Resources
Website
Lists evidence-based resources about implementing health promotion and disease prevention programs and policies in the workplace.
Organization(s): Health People 2030

CDC Workplace Health Model
Website
Presents a multiphase process for identifying the elements, policies, benefits, and environmental supports necessary for workplace health promotion and disease prevention program development.
Organization(s): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)