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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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(2013 results)

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MHD-MWW Water Quality Technical Workgroup (Milwaukee, WI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Urban

Goal: The overriding goal of the workgroup is to develop, institute and evaluate preventive measures (e.g. procedures, protocols and policies) that would mitigate the impact of any future waterborne disease incidents. Post 9/11, the workgroup has evolved to include discussions on water security in the context of an intentional contamination event.

Miami-Dade County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program (Miami-Dade County, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help protect, restore, and conserve the air, water, land and ecosystem resources of Miami-Dade County.

Michigan Child Death Review Program (Michigan)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The purpose of CDR is to use the findings from the reviews to improve agency systems and to take action to prevent other deaths.

Michigan Family Independence Agency (Kent County, MI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to move employable TANF recipients into the workforce and to provide job retention support.

Michigan's Cancer Registry (Michigan)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this project is to identify disparities in cancer deaths among minority and low-income populations.

Migrant Health Promotion (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural

Goal: The mission of Migrant Health Promotion is to strengthen the capacity of farmworker and migrant families to live healthy lives within healthy communities.

Minneapolis Center for Victim–Offender Mediation (Minneapolis, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to Promote and enhance restorative justice dialogue, principles, and practices.

Minority Outreach Recreation Program (San Francisco Bay Area)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Disabilities, Children, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of BORP’s Minority Outreach Program is to make recreational activities more accessible to disabled minority or immigrant individuals.

Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA) (Missouri)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of this project is to educate citizens, health professionals, researchers, and policy makers about cancer in Missouri. Complete, timely, and high-quality data are essential for conducting research and responding to public concerns about cancer incidence in their communities.

Mix It Up!

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Teens

Goal: Mix It Up seeks to create inclusive school communities by breaking down social barriers and conflicts that lead to bullying and violence.

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.