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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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Teaching Stream Restoration to Alternative Middle School Students (Everett, WA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Wildlife, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Voyager School was to supplement the current science curriculum with some outdoor activities and environmental education.

Public Health Communications Response to the Influenza Vaccine Shortage (Pinellas County, FL)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Older Adults, Families

Goal: The goal was to provide flu vaccine to those most at risk while minimizing public alarm and gaining acceptance by employees that the traditionally free flu vaccine would not be available.

Seat Belt Promotion in North Carolina (North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase seat belt use through interactive road signs and law enforcement.

Worksite Wellness Programs for North Carolina Government Employees (North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: To reduce employee risk of developing chronic health conditions and to contain rising health care costs by establishing worksite wellness programs throughout state government.

Providing Summer Youth Activities (Dallas County, AR)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation / Sports Recreation & Parks, Children, Rural

Goal: The goal of the "Summer Sizzlers" program is to offer productive activities for youth to participate in during the summer vacation.

Art Not Crime (Portland, Oregon)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: Art Not Crime promotes social sustainability by providing a safe place for individuals to create urban inspired pieces of art and display them where their art is appreciated as the language of this new culture and not classified as crime.

5-A-Day Power Plus (St. Paul, MN)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: To increase fruit and vegetable consumption among children using a multi-component approach.

A Disinfection and Hand Hygiene Program for Schools (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: To reduce gastrointestinal and respiratory illness-related absenteeism in elementary school students by using surface disinfectants.

AIDS Prevention for Adolescents in Schools (New York City, NY)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of AIDS Prevention for Adolescents in Schools was to use a teacher-delivered curriculum to improve knowledge and beliefs about AIDS, and develop self-efficacy related to AIDS-preventive actions among students.

Asthma Self-Management Program (North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Teens, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Asthma Self-Management Program is to improve asthma self-management and outcome.

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.