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.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To improve the lives of Wyandotte and Johnson County families by aiding with health insurance and assistance program applications while providing health literacy education to increase appropriate use of services to narrow the gaps between service providers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Government Assistance
Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage employers to contribute to health coverage for employees.
Medical-Legal Partnerships: Investing in Social Services as a Core Strategy for Healthcare (New York City)
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: New York City LegalHealth is a fruitful partnership that operates in 11 clinics of the city's public hospitals. One example is by supporting individuals in tenant-landlord disputes.
Impact: With an average of $225 per case, LegalHealth was able to effectively demand fixes in asthma patients' living conditions. This impact directly resulted in a 90% drop in emergency room visits and hospital admissions for this asthma patient group.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goals of the Mental Health First Aid course are to: 1) learn to identify risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, 2) utilize evidence-based strategies to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and 3) become a resource in your community to guide people where to turn for help.
NAMI-DuPage's yearly goal is to complete 70 training courses per year.
Impact: Mental Health First Aid helps community members become aware of signs and symptoms of someone in a mental health crisis and become a resource to mental health and behavioral health programs in their community.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Urban
Goal: On December 5, 2006, the NYC Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
Goal: The goal of plaNCY is to ensure a higher quality of life for New Yorkers, and reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment
Goal: The mission of the program is to work vigorously to free participants from the burden of welfare dependency, and achieve a better, happier lifestyle through self-sufficiency. It will serve the taxpayers of Riverside County by reducing welfare dependency, thus making tax dollars available for other expenditures and needs.
Impact: The program produced a large net savings to the government through increased tax revenues and reduced welfare and food stamps payments (as an estimate, $2.84 saved for every $1.00 invested over five years).
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Teens, Urban
Goal: The group’s mission is to improve the leadership skills of Denver’s youth while supporting and improving the community.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air
Goal: To slow climate change by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while also establishing a network of public spaces where residents can walk to enjoy a vibrant urban landscape and healthy ecosystem.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: To reduce weight in overweight and obese patients using mobile-based text and multimedia messaging.
Impact: At the end of a 4-month period, participants in the text-message based intervention showed greater weight loss than the control group.