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.

Submit a Promising Practice

The Community Immersion Program (Austin, Texas)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Public Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The mission of the program is to develop cultural understanding and to forge relationships between police officers and citizens of Austin in order to provide better community service.

The Diabetes Collaborative (Chicago)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Diabetes Collaborative is a comprehensive, sustainable and evidence-based model of care developed to combat the health problems associated with diabetes.

The Eastern Virginia Care Transitions Partnership (Urbanna, VA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: Reduce hospital/nursing home readmissions and improve care for older adults.

Impact: Reduced 30-day readmission rate from 18.2 to 8.9 percent over the course of 2 years, resulting in estimated savings of more than $17 million through 1,804 avoided readmissions.

The Green House Project (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The mission of the Green House Project is to partner with organizations, advocates, and communities to lead the transformation of institutional long-term care by creating viable homes where elders and others enjoy excellent quality of life and quality of care.

Impact: Studies showed that Green House homes are likely to reduce hospitalization rates among residents, and Medicare and Medicaid costs per resident, when compared to residents in traditional nursing homes. Also, nurses are more likely to spend more hours in Green House homes.

The Healthy Corner Store Initiative (Philadelphia, PA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Healthy Corner Store Initiative is to improve healthy food access in underserved communities in Philadelphia.

Impact: From 2004 to 2012, over 600 corner stores committed to providing healthy food options for customers. One hundred corner stores received conversions (investments ranging between $1,000 and $5,000) to expand inventory of produce and other healthy products.

The Incredible Years®

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families

Goal: The Incredible Years® Parents, Teachers, and Children Training Series has two long-range goals. The first goal is to develop comprehensive treatment programs for young children with early onset conduct problems. The second goal is the development of cost-effective, community-based, universal prevention programs that all families and teachers of young children can use to promote social competence and to prevent children from developing conduct problems in the first place.

Impact: Studies have shown that children who participate in the programs demonstrate significant improvements in school readiness, emotional regulation, and social skills, as well as reductions in behavior problems in the classroom.

The Key Clubhouse of South Florida and Supportive Housing at Northside Commons (Miami-Dade County, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Urban

Goal: The mission of The Key Clubhouse is to afford people who have been disrupted by mental illness the opportunity to recover meaningful and productive lives through reintegration in the workplace and the community.

The Living Room of the Community Health Center of LaGrange (LaGrange, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Urban

Goal: To reduce the number of individuals with mental illness who use the ER, to help individuals achieve long-term recovery, and to develop a community peer-based support network.

Impact: The Living Room is a comfortable, non-clinical space that offers an alternative to hospital emergency rooms. The program in LaGrange, Illinois hopes to decrease unnecessary hospitalizations.

The Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction (MARR) Coalition (Michigan)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction Coalition (MARR) seeks to improve the use of antimicrobial agents and reduce antimicrobial resistance rates in health care facilities and communities throughout the state of Michigan through the collaborative efforts of academic, community, government, labor and industry partners. MARR seeks to accomplish this mission by serving as a catalyst and facilitator for programs of judicious antimicrobial use, and providing such programs; maintaining a repository of current and credible information about antimicrobial resistance; and participating in clinical interventions and research that will ensure improved antimicrobial use and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

The PedNet Coalition (Columbia, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation

Goal: The goal of the Coalition is to give citizens a real choice regarding the mode of transportation they elect for traveling to work, school, or recreaton as well as to encourage healthier lifestyles and a cleaner environment.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.