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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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Steps to a Healthier Washington (Washington)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Adults

Goal: The mission of the Steps to a Healthier Washington program is to integrate existing chronic disease programs to achieve policy and systems changes.

Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts by building small grocery stores that provide alternatives to convenience stores or fast foods.

Impact: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts.

Strategy: Community Beautification (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families

Goal: The goal of beautification and restoration projects is to restore neighborhoods and communities in order to prevent criminal activity and encourage community engagement.

Stroke Family Support Organizer (Nottinghamshire, UK)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the Stroke Family Support Organizer program is to provide stroke patients and caregivers with information about supportive services.

Sunday Streets (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Sunday Streets is to provide safe, fun outdoor spaces in different neighborhoods across the city that encourage physical activity.

SuperTracker (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Families

Goal: SuperTracker aims to empower Americans to make healthier choices in nutrition and physical activity, based on personal preferences, lifestyle, and health status.

Sustainable Skylines Kansas City (Kansas City)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Sustainable Skylines Initiative (SSI) is to achieve measurable emissions reductions and promote sustainability in urban environments within three years of implementation.

Sustainable Slopes (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The mission of the members of Sustainable Slopes is to be leaders among outdoor recreation providers through managing their businesses in a way that demonstrates their commitment to environmental protection and stewardship while meeting the expectations of the public.

Switch What You Do, View, and Chew (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: To increase healthy lifestyles in children ages 8-10 years old by increasing physical activity and vegetable and fruit consumption and decreasing time spent in front of the television in order to prevent childhood obesity.

Tai Chi for Diabetes (Sydney, Australia)

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

Goal: The goal of the “Tai Chi for Diabetes” program was to improve health-related outcomes for
individuals diagnosed with type II diabetes in areas of mobility and physical function.

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.