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.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Restricting Minors’ Access to Tobacco Products: Community Mobilization with Additional Interventions (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends community mobilization combined with additional interventions —such as stronger local laws directed at retailers, active enforcement of retailer sales laws, and retailer education with reinforcement—on the basis of sufficient evidence of effectiveness in reducing youth tobacco use and access to tobacco products from commercial sources.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Adults
Goal: The goal of the programs is to increase vaccination coverage of patients through reminders to providers and other health care professionals.
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends provider reminder interventions based on strong evidence of effectiveness in improving vaccination coverage:
-In adults, adolescents, and children
-When used alone or with additional components
-Across a range of intervention characteristics (e.g., computerized or simple reminders, checklists or flowcharts)
-In a range of settings and populations
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Universally Recommended Vaccinations: Home Visits to Increase Vaccination Rates (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends home visits to increase vaccination rates in children and adults.
The CPSTF notes, however, that economic evidence shows home visits can be resource-intensive and costly relative to other options.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer
Goal: The goal of this campaign is to increase screening for colon cancer.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Child Development-Community Policing Program (CDCP) is to reduce the negative consequences of exposure to violent and potentially traumatic events among children and their families.
Impact: The CDCP Program shows that through community policing efforts, it is possible to successfully intervene early in an attempt to ameliorate the effects of children's exposure to violence.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to relieve symptoms of PTSD, depression, and general anxiety among children exposed to trauma.
Impact: Studies have found significant reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms for treatment children in CBITS when compared with a control group. Additionally, the program demonstrated effectiveness at reducing parent-reported psychosocial dysfunction among participating children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce disability in middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia.
Impact: At the end of treatment, CBSST participants had significantly greater cognitive insight scores, indicating more objectivity in reappraising psychotic symptoms relative to treatment as usual. At 1-year follow-up, participants in CBSST showed greater skill acquisition and significant improvements in social functioning relative to participants receiving treatment as usual.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens
Goal: The goal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Depression is to treat depressive symptoms in adolescents.
Impact: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Depression showed more rapid treatment response than both systematic behavior family therapy and non-directive support therapy. CBT also showed a greater rate of decline in self-reported depression over time.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of this program is to use cognitive behavioral therapy to treat depression in older adults.
Impact: Research has shown that behavioral cognitive therapy helped patients reduce their depression symptoms, and maintained this improvement at 1-year follow-up more effectively than other types of therapy. At 6-month follow-up, clients who completed CBT were less likely to meet criteria for diagnoses of depression than clients who completed treatment as usual.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program was to increase colorectal cancer screening recommendations and completion rates at a Veterans Affairs medical center.
Impact: Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in the intervention group received more recommendations for colorectal cancer screening and completed more screening tests compared to those in the control group.