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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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Syracuse Family Development Research Program (Syracuse, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children

Goal: The goal of this program was to improve child and family functioning.

Syringe Expanded Access and Disposal (Erie County, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate syringe users about access to clean syringes and proper medical waste disposal and to provide sharps containers and disposal sites to syringe users.

Tai Chi for Diabetes (Sydney, Australia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the “Tai Chi for Diabetes” program was to improve health-related outcomes for
individuals diagnosed with type II diabetes in areas of mobility and physical function.

Take Charge Challenge (New Mexico)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage people with disabilities to increase levels of physical activity by means of a behavior change physical activity program, the Take Charge Challenge (TCC).

Taking the HyRoad (Alameda and Contra Costa County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The goal of Taking the HyRoad is to improve fuel economy and reduce the emissions from public transit buses through the use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Targeted TB Testing and Treatment Program (Suffolk County, NY)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce rates of TB among foreign-born populations and to increase rates of treatment for latent TB infection.

TD Green Streets

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Adults

Goal: TD Green Streets strives to green cities and towns across Canada by supporting innovative practices in municipal forestry.

Impact: TD Green Streets supports innovative practices in community forestry and has awarded funding to more than 500 communities across Canada. In 2012, 25 projects were funded resulting in the planting of 16,344 trees & shrubs nationwide.

Teaching Alternative High School Students Computer Skills through Experiential Learning (Tonasket, WA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens

Goal: The goal was to engage students in learning how to use and fix computers so they would be competitve in the job market following school.

Teaching Nutrition and Life Skills to Adults with Low Incomes (Verona, VA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Poverty, Rural

Goal: The goal of the program is to help clients reach self-sufficiency through life-skills and nutritional education.

Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Teens

Goal: The intent of this program is to provide each student with at least 12 years of training in how to manage conflicts constructively and thereby significantly change the way they manage their conflicts for the rest of their lives.

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.