The Guide to Community Preventive Services, also known as The Community Guide, is a free resource for evidence-based recommendations and findings from the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force), an independent, nonfederal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts. The Task Force bases its recommendations and findings on systematic reviews of scientific literature. These reviews are conducted, with oversight from the Task Force, by scientists and subject matter experts from the ​​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with a wide range of government, academic, policy, and practice-based partners.

 

The Community Guide covers many health topics and types of interventions for behavior change, disease prevention, and environmental change; identifies where more research is needed; and complements other decision support tools, such as Healthy People 2020 and The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services.

 

The Community Guide addresses the following questions:

• Which program and policy interventions have been proven effective?
• Are there effective interventions that are right for my community?
• What might effective interventions cost; what is the likely return on investment?

 

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) recognizes the importance of The Community Guide in creating and sustaining healthy communities and has partnered with CDC to increase awareness, adoption, and use of the evidence-based findings and recommendations outlined in The Community Guide by implementing the following programs:

• Using The Community Guide for Community Health Improvement
• Community Guide Success Stories
• Public Health Works

 

There are many ways to use The Community Guide within your organization:

• Programs and Services: Identify community health issues and draft measurable program objectives that can be used to select evidence-based interventions to help achieve your objectives
• Policy Development: Identify what laws and policies promote public health and at what cost, draft evidence-based policies and legislation, justify funding decisions and proposals, and support policies that promote the health of your community
• Education: Educate public health professionals, assist with student projects, and promote the health of employees and students in your community
• Funding Opportunities: Reference the evidence, recommendations, findings, and supporting materials in areas where there are evidence gaps in writing your proposals
• Research: Review studies that address questions about effectiveness, applicability, and harms to guide your research

 

For more information or to subscribe for updates about The Community Guide, please visit The Community Guide website.