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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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Telephone Intervention for Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors (Birmingham, AL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults

Goal: The goal of this intervention is to provide family caregivers of stroke survivors with problem-solving skills and support to manage problems and cope with the stresses of care giving.

Telephone Outreach to Increase Colon Cancer Screening (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of this telephone outreach program was to increase colorectal cancer screening in a predominantly lower- to moderate-income African American population.

Text Reminders for Immunization Compliance in Kids (TRICKs): A Demonstration Project (Wichita, KS)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of TRICKs was to reach out to parents using a novel reminder system and increase immunization rates at the KU pediatric clinic.

Impact: There was a significant increase in immunization rate following the implementation of parent text reminders when compared to the initial immunization rate.

The Achieve Program (Cleveland, OH)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase entry-level employee retention, promote skill building for employee success, and reduce employee absenteeism and turnover.

The Adolescent Parenting Program (Newark, NJ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens, Women, Urban

Goal: This program aimed to improve birth and early child outcomes among high-risk pregnant and parenting adolescents.

The AgSTAR Program (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of AgStar is to reduce methane emissions at confined animal feedlot operations by promoting the use of biogas recovery systems.

The Arthritis Self-Management Program (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The Arthritis Self-Management Program is a group workshop that educates individuals with rheumatic diseases on techniques to help them manage their disease and live more active lives.

The Bridge Model of Transitional Care

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

Goal: The goal of The Bridge Model of Transitional Care is to help aging adults transition from the hospital back to their homes and communities safely.

Impact: The Bridge Model of Transitional Care can help lower hospital re-admission rates as well as improve primary care engagement 30 days after being discharged from the hospital.

The California Tobacco Control Program (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Adults

Goal: The Mission of California's Tobacco Control Section (TCS) is to improve the health of all Californians by reducing illness and premature death attributable to the use of tobacco products.

The Cambodian Community Health 2010 Project (Lowell, MA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve the health of the Cambodian population in Lowell, Massachusetts.

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.