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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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Positive Action Center (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the PAC program is to reduce recidivism to the In School Suspension system and to reduce students' risk of being expelled, dropping out, or failing out of school.

Positive Choice: Interactive Video Doctor

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

Goal: To eliminate or reduce sex risk behaviors and eliminate or reduce illicit drug use among HIV-positive clinic patients.

Posse (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment

Goal: The goal of the Posse Foundation is to provide top institutions with a selection of exemplary students from diverse backgrounds that they can recruit, improve the college environment for students of all backgrounds, and help Posse Scholars graduate and find leadership positions in the workforce.

Pounds Off Digitally (Raleigh-Durham, NC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Pounds Off Digitally podcast is increase weight loss among overweight and obese adults.

Preventive Health Program/ Hepatitis C Testing (Erie County, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The intent of the practice is to decrease mortality and morbidity relative to Hepatitis A, B or C infection rate in Western New York.

Preventive Treatment Program (Montreal, Quebec)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce short- and long-term antisocial behavior.

Project AIM

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To reduce HIV risk behaviors among adolescents aged 11 to 14.

Impact: This program effectively modified sexual risk among adolescents aged 11 to 14 by focusing students on positive future selves.

Project Angel Heart (Colorado)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: Project Angel Heart improves health and well-being for people with life-threatening illnesses by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals and promoting the power of food as medicine.

Impact: Survey data from Project Angel Heart clients show that this program has a positive impact on clients. Of clients surveyed in 2018: 82% report less stress, 69% report improved adherence to health care plans, 72% report improved quality of life, and 72% report improved ability to afford basic needs.

Project BRAVE (New Orleans)

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

Goal: To reduce violence among adolescents and young adults living in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and violence in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Project CAFE (Los Angeles)

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

Goal: The goal of Project CAFE is to identify ways to increase access and availability of healthy foods in Los Angeles neighborhoods in order to decrease obesity and diabetes.

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.