The Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) is a panel of public health and prevention experts appointed by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its members represent a broad range of local, state, and national research, practice, and policy expertise in community preventive services, public health, health promotion, and disease prevention.

Decision makers in communities, companies, health departments, health plans and healthcare systems, non-governmental organizations, and at all levels of government can better protect and improve the public’s health by knowing what works. For this, they can rely on recommendations by the Community Preventive Services Task Force, compiled in The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide); www.thecommunityguide.org). These recommendations identify programs, services, and policies proven effective in a variety of real world settings—such as communities, worksites, schools, and health plans. Task Force recommendations empower community, local, state, federal, tribal, territorial, corporate, public health, and healthcare decision makers to optimize resources to: protect and improve health; reduce demand for future healthcare spending that is driven by preventable disease and disability; and increase productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. workforce.

This report is the Task Force’s first Annual Report to Congress. It provides background on the Task Force, its methods, findings, and recommendations, and describes both gaps in existing research on community preventive services and priorities for future Task Force efforts.