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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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Tai Chi with Paukukalo Kupuna (Wailuku, HI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the program is to provide seniors a form of movement that will enhance their confidence and balance in daily activities.

Tailored Caregiver Assessment and Referral (TCARE)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: TCARE supports Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) by strengthening agencies' abilities to support family caregivers through its Evidence-Based software and protocol.

Taking the HyRoad (Alameda and Contra Costa County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The goal of Taking the HyRoad is to improve fuel economy and reduce the emissions from public transit buses through the use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Taller Tech (Santa Ana, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help high-risk youth develop marketable skills and to instill in students the values of dignity, responsibility and community.

Targeted Outreach for Women Act (Florida)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Women's Health, Women

Goal: The goal of the Targeted Outreach for Pregnant Women Act is to improve prenatal care among high risk and HIV-positive pregnant women in order to reduce the number of babies born with HIV-infection and prenatal drug exposure.

Teaching Alternative High School Students Computer Skills through Experiential Learning (Tonasket, WA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens

Goal: The goal was to engage students in learning how to use and fix computers so they would be competitve in the job market following school.

Teaching Nutrition and Life Skills to Adults with Low Incomes (Verona, VA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Poverty, Rural

Goal: The goal of the program is to help clients reach self-sufficiency through life-skills and nutritional education.

Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers

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

Goal: The intent of this program is to provide each student with at least 12 years of training in how to manage conflicts constructively and thereby significantly change the way they manage their conflicts for the rest of their lives.

Teen Choices (Collier County, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Family Planning, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the repeat birth rate for teen women in Collier County and to encourage positive choices for teen mothers to ensure a brighter future for them and their children.

TEEN LINE (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: The organization’s goal is to provide a safe space where a teenager can talk to another teenager who will listen, understand and not judge them.

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.