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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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Matching Volunteer Mentors with Adults Working towards Self-Sufficiency (Amarillo, TX)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Poverty, Adults

Goal: The goal of the program is to help people living in poverty to become self-sufficient by working toward short and long term goals of self-improvement.

Maternal and Child Behavioral Health Pilot Project (King County, WA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Women, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Maternal and Child Behavioral Health Pilot Project is to prevent and treat common mental health disorders in low-income pregnant women, mothers, and their children.

Partners Through Food: Organizing to Increase Access to Healthy Food (Upper Falls, NY)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: To increase the access and availability of nutritious food to the residents of Upper Falls, Rochester, New York.

Positive Youth Development Program (New Haven, CT)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens

Goal: To increase social competence and decrease substance abuse among sixth and seventh grade students.

POSSE (Prevent Ongoing Spread of STDs Everywhere) (Forsyth County, NC)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the POSSE program is to increase STD awareness, prevention skills, and testing among racial and ethnic minorities.

Project A.S.K. (Adolescents Seeking Knowledge) (Nashville, TN)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: Project A.S.K. seeks to raise youth self-efficacy, improve knowledge of health issues, highlight math and science concepts tested in school, build leadership qualities, and improve the sense of community.

Project Healthy Bones (New Jersey)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: The goal of Project Healthy Bones is to educate older individuals about osteoporosis and improve strength, balance, and flexibility through strength training exercises.

Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders) (Texas)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention

Goal: The goal or this program is to help those who have been incarcerated find employment.

Promoting Youth Volunteerism with a Multi-District Council (Boyd County, KY)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children

Goal: The goal was for school administrators to coordinate efforts across districts for students to learn about volunteer opportunities and to become youth volunteers, as well as to teach character education and the merits of volunteerism in the elementary schools.

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.

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.