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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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SMART Leaders (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to help youths identify and resist peer and other social pressures to smoke, drink, and engage in sexual activity.

Student Outreach for College Enrollment (Los Angeles)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens, Urban

Goal: SOURCE aims to help students from low-income families in the Los Angeles Unified School District to select and apply for college and financial aid.

The Continuum of Program-Enriched Services (Denver, CO)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote economic survival and stability for vulnerable populations.

The Cross-Cultural Workgroup on Tobacco (Washington)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce tobacco use among groups experiencing the most pronounced tobacco-related disparities.

The Food Safety Tool Box (Columbus, OH)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Food Safety, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks by educating licensed operators and food employees of proper food safety procedures.

The Mercury Challenge (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of the Mercury Challenge is to eliminate mercury from industrial sites.

The Minnesota Youth Tobacco Prevention Initiative (Minnesota)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Initiative was to reduce youth tobacco use by 30% by 2005.

The Taunton Oral Health Collaborative (Taunton, MA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Teens, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide free and reduced-cost oral health services to children and adults.

Transcendental Meditation Stress Reduction Intervention for Congestive Heart Failure (Philadelphia, PA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the intervention is to use meditation to improve health and reduce the risk of heart failure among older African Americans with congestive heart failure.

Transforming Neighborhoods Together (TNT) (Knoxville, TN)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Urban

Goal: TNT's goals are to create an active group of neighborhood leaders, committed to developing a long-term vision for their neighborhoods; to establish a process for resident input and consensus; to develop a comprehensive body of knowledge about the neighborhoods; and to develop written action plans for achieving the vision, which may include goals for investment in and development of the neighborhoods.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.