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

Achievement Mentoring (Piscataway, NJ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve academic performance, reduce substance abuse, and reduce school failure among middle and high school students.

Acquaintance Rape Prevention Program (Athens, OH)

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

Goal: The goals of this program are to increase awareness of risk factors for sexual assault, provide women with practical strategies to prevent rape, and reduce the incidence of sexual assault among participants.

Active Choices (San Francisco)

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

Goal: The goal of this promising practice is to increase physical activity in a diverse older adult population.

Impact: Participants in the Active Choices program showed significant increases in physical activity and a greater satisfaction with their body appearance and function. Participants of the program also showed decreases in their BMI.

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health through the Alameda County, California, Place Matters Policy Initiative (Alameda County, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Place Matters initiative is to improve the health of participating communities by “addressing social conditions that lead to poor health” through “identifying the complex root causes of health disparities and defining strategies to address them.”

Impact: AC Place Matters has identified 10 best practices that could help other programs address social determinants of health: find and foster strong leadership, dedicate staff resources to the work, engage staff from across the local health department, contribute to building grassroots power, address root causes, partner with community organizations and leaders, partner with government institutions across sectors, work reactively and proactively, build capacity, and use tools that ensure a focus on health equity.

Adopt-A-Ship Program (USA)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to introduce teachers and students in grades 5 - 8 to the people, vessels, and activities of the American Merchant Marine, and to foster an interest in geography, history, transportation, trade, science, math, and English.

Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) (Ohio)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide literacy skills and other basic skills to the most educationally and economically disadvantaged individuals in the state.

Adults and Children Together - Parents Raising Safe Kids (ACT-PRSK) (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to teach parents/caregivers effective parenting skills, create a support system for their children, and equip participants with non-violent techniques to encourage a safe environment at home and in the community.

Impact: ACT program has been shown to prevent child maltreatment and promote positive parenting skills, including reducing physical violence towards children, improving knowledge of appropriate discipline, and improving parent methods for teaching children nonviolent social skills.

Advancing Diabetes Self Management (Connecticut)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Advancing Diabetes Self Management program at the Community Health Center was to improve the health outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes.

Impact: The diabetes self-management intervention showed patient improvements in glycemic control, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol. The team was able to develop and adapt the program to meet the unique needs of the population to create an effective intervention.

Advancing Diabetes Self Management: La Clinica de La Raza (Oakland, CA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Advancing Diabetes Self Management at La Clinica de La Raza was to improve health outcomes of those suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Adventures in Learning (Greater Kansas City area)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: Shepherd's Center Central is a local leader in the regional effort to ensure that all people can age successfully with dignity, security, and respect.

Impact: In 2016, Adventures in Learning experienced attendance of 80 members per week and offered a total of 520 classes during the four 10-week sessions available.

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.