About The Community Guide

The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) is a collection of evidence-based findings of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF). It is a resource to help you select interventions to improve health and prevent disease in your state, community, community organization, business, healthcare organization, or school.

The Community Guide

• Uses a science-based approach to determine whether an intervention approach works and is cost-effective.
• Helps you identify and select intervention approaches for behavior change, disease prevention, and environmental change across more than 22 health topics
• Identifies where there is insufficient evidence and more research is needed
• Complements decision support tools, such as Healthy People 2020 , and the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services

The CPSTF issues findings based on systematic reviews of effectiveness and economic evidence that are conducted with a methodology developed by the Community Guide Office.

The CPSTF reviews intervention approaches across a wide range of health topics. The interventions are applicable to groups, communities, or other populations and include strategies such as healthcare system changes, public laws, workplace and school programs and policies, and community-based programs.

All of the intervention approaches are intended to improve health directly; prevent or reduce risky behaviors, disease, injuries, complications, or detrimental environmental or social factors; or promote healthy behaviors and environments.

The CPSTF 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 CPSTF with technical and administrative support.

For more information
Truman BI, Smith-Akin CK, Hinman AR, et al. Developing the Guide to Community Preventive Services - Overview and Rationale [PDF - 191 kB]. Am J Prev Med. 2000; 18 (1S) :18-26.