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.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Teens, Adults
The goal of this project is to achieve high rates of identification of new HIV infection and to decrease the spread of HIV among youth in metropolitan DC, which is severely affected by the epidemic.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children
The Children’s Health Fund’s mission is to provide health care to the nation's most medically underserved children through the development and support of primary care medical programs. The fund also responds to public health crises and works to promote access to health care for all children.
Children's Health Fund provides medical, dental, and mental health care to approximately 83,000 low-income and homeless children and their family members each year through mobile medical clinics.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
The goal of the Critical Time Intervention is to prevent homelessness among people with severe mental illness.
Evaluations of this program have found sizable reductions (24-67%) in average number of nights spent homeless over the 18-month follow-up period and more than a 60% reduction in likelihood of being homeless in the final weeks of the 18-month follow-up. Cost offsets and savings have been shown.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children
The goals of DTBY are to improve parents' self-esteem, enhance decision-making skills, increase communication between parents and children, teach effective stress management, and strengthen peer support.
Several studies have demonstrated increases in parental self-efficacy and self-esteem among DTBY parents. Also, the use of harsh punishment decreased and effective discipline and limit-setting increased. Children involved in DTBY programming had greater average increases in developmental level.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the Diabetes-Based Science Education for Tribal Schools (DETS) curriculum is to slow or reverse the rising rate of type 2 diabetes in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) youth through a pedagogy based in a combination of a science-based diabetes/health education curriculum and culturally relevant contexts.
Overall, the DETS curriculum shows that collaboratively-developed curriculums and education courses can have an effective impact across grade levels with students having significant knowledge gains, and can also serve as a supplement for other science and social science curriculums in schools.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
The goal of Dialectical Behavior Therapy is to use a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach to treat patients with multiple disorders.
After 1 year of treatment, a smaller percentage of DBT participants reported suicide attempts compared with TBE patients. DBT also reduced Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) behavior over the course of 1-year treatment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The primary aim of Draw the Line/Respect the Line is to reduce the number of students who initiate or have sexual intercourse and to increase condom use among those students who do have sexual intercourse.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults
Drinker's Check-up is designed to help problem drinkers reduce their alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences.
Study participants had a significant reduction in alcohol use, alcohol-related consequences, symptoms of alcohol dependence, and a decrease in ambivalence about reducing alcohol use.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety
The goal of Emergency Department Means Restriction Education is to help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate action to restrict access to firearms, alcohol, and prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the home in order to lessen the risk of self harm.
The Means Restriction program shows that ED-based programs and provided practical information can help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate, new action to restrict access to dangers in the home.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
The goal of EnhanceFitness is to encourage older adults to engage in regular physical activity to improve their health and well-being.
EnhanceFitness participants reported a 13% improvement in social function, a 52% improvement in depression, and a 35% improvement in physical functioning. Additionally, participants' healthcare costs were 21% less than those of non-participants after one year.