HHD employs a range of techniques to achieve its mission. Our services include the following:

Research and evaluation. HHD conducts social science research and evaluation to advance knowledge about factors that affect the health of individuals, organizations, and communities. We conduct intervention research to learn what types of prevention strategies are effective and under what conditions; we conduct extensive program evaluation; and we evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to implement or adapt research-based programs. Our methods range from large-scale surveys and quasi-experimental designs to more formative, qualitative techniques, such as focus groups, interviews, case studies, and direct observations. Our work includes a 20-year commitment to researching the effectiveness of clinic and community-based HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, and a longitudinal follow-up of the effectiveness of health instruction combined with community service on the risk behaviors of nearly 2,000 urban middle school students.

Synthesis and dissemination of research findings. HHD prepares numerous technical documents that synthesize the findings and implications of research and best practices. For example, for the Pan American Health Organization, we documented the theory behind skills-based health education programs, and included evaluation evidence and case studies of such efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean. For the World Health Organization (WHO), we have compiled research results on effective programs that promote reproductive health through schools. And for Congress, state legislators, and service providers, we have documented college campuses’ compliance with the Clery Act, assessing data on sexual assaults and documenting effective prevention practices.

Assessment and strategic planning. HHD creates numerous assessment and strategic planning tools tailored to the needs of practitioners and policymakers within departments of education and health, schools, hospitals, community organizations, and international, national, and state agencies. For example, in partnership with the WHO we developed the Rapid Assessment and Action Planning Process, a method used to assess and strengthen national efforts to promote health through schools. The first full-scale application was conducted in Indonesia in 1999 - 2000, and a revised and customized version is currently underway in Nigeria. For Vermont’s public health department, we are developing a plan for reducing tobacco use among college students, drawing on environmental change strategies, such as the establishment of tobacco-free dorms.

Development of policy guidelines. HHD conducts policy research and translates existing research into publications and tools to guide policymakers and practitioners in shaping, implementing, and enforcing health policies and laws. For example, on behalf of the WHO, we developed and facilitated a policy workshop for senior decision-makers in ministries of education and health within the Mega Countries (the 11 most populous nations) to review the core elements of tobacco control policies for schools. And in March 2003, we are convening the 13th Alcohol Policy conference series, a forum for researchers, community advocates, and public officials to exchange ideas on laws and policies aimed at minimizing risks associated with alcohol use.

Project management. HHD staff are highly experienced in managing a range of projects from small-scale consultations to multi-million dollar contracts. For example, for the U.S. Department of Education’s Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, HHD created the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Middle School Drug Prevention and Safety Coordinators and trained more than 1,000 coordinators to identify, select, implement, and evaluate research-based substance abuse and violence prevention policies and programs, engaging students, families, and communities in the process.

Design and management of resource centers. HHD has extensive experience designing and managing resource centers that strengthen policymakers’ and practitioners’ capacity to apply proven strategies that foster healthy lifestyles and environments. For example, our Children’s Safety Network (CSN), funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, develops the capacity of state and local health departments to address youth violence, suicide, and injury prevention. CSN provides assessment and planning guidance, professional development seminars, ongoing coaching, and online learning tools, and develops and disseminates education and training materials, curricula, and evaluation reports.

Professional development workshops, training, and technical assistance. HHD designs and conducts ongoing seminars and workshops around the world and provides interactive, Web-based distance learning tools to enable its partners, funders, and practitioners to communicate with HHD and with one another. For example, in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health, we have developed and evaluated a series of videoconferences on effective violence prevention practices for a multi-disciplinary audience. For the American Cancer Society, we are creating training modules on establishing nonprofit cancer control organizations in developing countries and creating materials on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Materials and curriculum development. HHD creates materials that inform policymakers, educate and support practitioners, and give children, adolescents, and adults the knowledge and skills to choose healthy lifestyles. Our products include training manuals, curricula, case studies, videos, books, online newsletters and courses, and interactive Web sites. For example, with the WHO, Education International, and African teachers, we co-developed HIV/AIDS prevention education and training materials, which are being used extensively in Africa as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global Aids Program. For Accor Asia Pacific Hotels, we developed, with Harvard University Health Services, a health promotion program for hotel guests on diet, physical activity, stress management, and healthy aging. And with a group of U.S. college presidents, we created a video and print package, “Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary,” to motivate other college presidents to address alcohol use on their campuses.

Health communication and social marketing campaigns. HHD uses media literacy and social marketing strategies to promote healthy behaviors and reduce risk behaviors by creating awareness and changing attitudes. For example, HHD is providing communications training and individual technical assistance to several Vermont communities using media campaigns and media literacy to prevent youth substance use. And in partnership with the District Attorney for Eastern Massachusetts, HHD is evaluating a media literacy curriculum called Flashpoint, in which students analyze the violent content and drinking behaviors portrayed in commercial media. Activities build students’ critical thinking skills and explore how these media messages affect their behavior and decision making skills. At the college level, the Social Norms Marketing Research Project is evaluating the effectiveness of campus-based media campaigns on changing student perceptions of drinking norms.

Technology for distance learning, networking, and communication. Through online courses, videoconferencing, satellite broadcasts, and other interactive technologies, HHD develops practitioners’ skills and connects policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to one another. For example, the National Training Center for Middle School Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinators offers online courses to train coordinators in data collection and prevention strategies. And our Web sites for Making Health Academic and the WHO Mega Country Network provide resources for educators and others on ways to address the health of students and teachers through schools.

Study tours. HHD develops and plans tours of model health promotion and risk reduction programs, both in the United States and abroad, for government officials, practitioners, educators, or any group that wants to share experiences with others who are successfully handling a challenge similar to one they are facing. For example, HHD staff took senior officials from Jamaica’s health, education, and criminal justice systems on a tour of pioneering youth-violence prevention programs in New York and Boston. Another tour, for more than 30 staff from the Inter American Development Bank, visited California state legislators and grassroots violence prevention programs in Los Angeles.