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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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Caught in the Crossfire (Oakland, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: A goal of the program is to reduce high-risk youth involvement in the criminal justice system by intervening immediately or very soon after youth are violently injured.

CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults

Goal: The mission of Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio is to promote environmental changes to prevent obesity and make San Antonio one of the healthiest and most active communities in the nation.

Impact: Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio aims to reduce obesity by building accessible walking trails, providing bike-share programs, organizing free fitness programs and highlighting healthy eating options for the residents of San Antonio.

CDC WiseWoman Demonstration Program (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Women

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide low-income, under- or uninsured women with the knowledge and skills to prevent and control heart disease and other chronic diseases.

CeaseFire (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of CeaseFire is to interrupt the cycle of violence by changing norms and promoting positive behavior change.

Center in the Square (Roanoke, VA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Art & Recreation / Libraries & Museums

Goal: The goal of this project was to create a regional cultural center that would provide rent-free housing, security, building maintenance, and housekeeping for several struggling museums and live theater.

Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (Tucson, AZ)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the negative impact of alcohol abuse on campus life by correcting students' perceptions about alcohol use and by making the campus less conducive to drinking.

Champions for Children (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve the quality of child care and education in Seattle.

Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (Savannah, GA)

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

Goal: The Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (YFA) mission is to create a community collaborative to bring about change in the policies, procedures and funding patterns of community institutions needed to enable the youth of the community to become productive, economically self-sustaining adults.

Chattanooga Affordable Housing (Chattanooga, TN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide fit and livable housing for all citizens of Chattanooga.

Chicago Child-Parent Centers (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide comprehensive educational support and family support to economically disadvantaged children and their parents.

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.