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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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Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center (Tuscon, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Children

Goal: It is the mission of the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center to create a pathway of economic success for disadvantaged youth through a career service delivery system. The program strives to teach marketable skills in a safe and supportive setting, and to find meaningful employment for students when they leave the program.

Free Community Colorectal Screening (Salina, KS)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Adults, Rural

Goal: To get as many age appropriate people screened as possible in the community and to raise awareness about the life-saving practice of colorectal screening.

Impact: Many cancers have been found and many have been prevented. The population has expressed gratitude for this program and the partners (such as the pharmacies and the hospital lab) are proud to be part of it.

Fresh Stop Project (Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is for communities to enjoy and have access to affordable fresh food year-round.

Impact: Fresh Stops has improved access to wholesome, local foods for urban residents. In addition, Fresh Stops has engaged community members in the food justice movement and has promoted the adoption of healthy lifestyle changes.

Functional Adaptation Skills Training (FAST) (San Diego, CA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults

Goal: The goal of FAST is to improve patients' independence and quality of life.

Impact: Studies have shown that FAST-treated patients' performance on everyday living skills improved significantly compared to non-participants. They also demonstrated significant improvement in social and communication skills at 6-month follow-up.

Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) (Phoenix, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban

Goal: The objectives of the G.R.E.A.T program are to reduce gang activity, teach students about the negative consequences of gang involvement, and develop positive relations between students and law enforcement officials.

Gang Resistance Is Paramount (GRIP) (Paramount, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate students about the dangers of gangs, discourage gang membership, educate parents about the signs of gang involvement, and provide families with resources to reduce gang activities in their homes and neighborhoods.

Geisinger's Fresh Food Farmacy

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to combat high obesity rates, pre-diabetes, and diabetes by providing fresh, healthy food to those most in need.

Impact: The Fresh Food Farmacy has positively impacted the lives of nearly 600 individuals. Patients are seeing significant HBA1C improvements, are better able to manage their diabetes with fewer complications, and several participants have been able to reduce or even eliminate their diabetes medications.

Get on Board (Tucson, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Get on Board program is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Tucson, AZ.

Get Real About AIDS (Colorado)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Get Real About AIDS program is to help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS among high-school-aged young people.

Get Real About Violence (Evanston, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent violence among children and adolescents.

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.