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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Women, Urban
The goal of the Safer Sex project is to increase condom use, prevent recurrent STDs, and eliminate or reduce risky sexual behaviors among adolescent females that have been diagnosed with an STD.
The Safer Sex project shows that individualized safer sex interventions may improve condom use and decrease the number of partners among adolescent girls who have had an STD.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
SAHARA is a computer-based HIV intervention that targets African American women to promote healthy sexual behaviors to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
These findings which demonstrate major improvements in HIV-preventive behaviors suggest that SAHARA is an effective evidence-based promising practice; it is inexpensive and only requires two hours.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children
School Food FOCUS is a national collaborative that leverages the knowledge and procurement power of large school districts to make school meals nationwide more healthful, regionally sourced, and sustainably produced.
School Food FOCUS helps partners procure healthy and sustainable school foods, works towards policies that advance healthy school foods, and facilitates knowledge sharing around school food issues.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
The goal of the School Nutrition Policy Initiative is to prevent and reduce overweight and obesity among low-income children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children
The goal of this intervention was to reduce dental caries among children by promoting twice daily tooth brushing.
Supervised tooth brushing and positive reinforcement in a school setting decreased the rate of dental caries in participating children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
The goal of this program was to lower the Body Mass Index (BMI) of obese children, and thus decrease the prevalence of obesity, through a multi-faceted lifestyle intervention program.
Group based interventions are beneficial in reducing BMI and creating healthy lifestyles in young, obese individuals.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
The goal of this program is to help clients move beyond trauma and substance abuse.
Multiple evaluations of the Seeking Safety program in various settings have shown positive outcomes for substance abuse/addiction, substance abuse disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the SHIELD intervention is to reduce drug and sex risk behaviors.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Urban
The goal of SUMIT is to reduce unprotected sexual contact between HIV-positive men and their HIV-negative or unknown-serostatus partners.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Shape Up SF aims to reduce health disparities by creating healthy eating and active living environments and improving physical activity and nutrition.
Shape Up SF implemented Safe Routes to School, Bayview HEAL Zone, PE4SF, Rethink Your Drink, Southeast Food Access (SEFA) Working Group, SEFA Food Guardians, and Walking Challenge, and increased physical activity and access to healthy foods in San Francisco.