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.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to involve pediatricians to help reduce rates of early childhood caries.
Impact: The multifaceted ECC intervention was associated with increased provider knowledge and counseling, and significantly attenuated incidence of ECC, showing that similar interventions could have the potential to make a significant public health impact on reducing ECC among young children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of Pathways to Housing, Inc. is to provide independent housing, treatment services for physical and mental health, and employment to mentally ill individuals who are chronically homeless.
Impact: Pathways to Housing has received numerous awards for its projects in New York City, Philadelphia, and D.C. In addition to achieving large effects in terms of housing outcomes, compared with standard care in the community, Housing First also improves community functioning and quality of life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens
Goal: The Penn Resiliency Program is a depression prevention program that seeks to reduce the longevity of symptoms exhibited and the severity of symptoms at onset of depression, through cognitive-behavioral therapy and problem-solving techniques.
Impact: The Penn Resiliency program shows that a group-based program seeking to prevent the initial onset of and decrease the exacerbation of depression children and teens by incorporating specific coping and problem-solving skills can reduce depressive symptoms over time.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Older Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of the program is to create a sustainable, affordable, and healthy food system for a community through an urban farm and its various programs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Teens, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Phoenix Healthy Homes project was to use a multi-factorial approach to reduce hazard prevalence and improve self-reports of home safety and respiratory health.
Impact: The Phoenix Healthy Homes project showed that a tailored healthy homes improvement package significantly improves self-reported respiratory health and safety, reduces respiratory health and injury hazards, and can be implemented in concert with a mobile clinical setting.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Community AIDS Prevention Program is to educate inner city Latino adolescents about how to reduce risk related to HIV/AIDS, and to encourage sexually active teens to use condoms.
Impact: This program shows that prevention programs targeting HIV/AIDS risk-reduction strategies and condom use encouragement can delay male initiation of sexual intercourse, reduce females' number of sexual partners, and increase likelihood of possessing a condom among sexually active youth.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve treatment outcomes for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Impact: PE Therapy is considered by expert consensus the treatment of choice for PTSD clients whose prominent symptoms include intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and trauma-related fear and avoidance. One study demonstrated that the treatment group showed significant improvement in PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms at posttest, and these treatment effects were maintained at 6-month follow-up.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
Goal: To promote water consumption with an educational and environmental intervention in elementary schools of deprived urban areas to prevent overweight.
Impact: This program shows that environmental and educational, school-based interventions can have effective impact in the prevention of overweight among children in elementary school, even in a population from socially-deprived areas.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Urban
Goal: The primary goal of RCCP is to increase children's levels of knowledge regarding ways in which to approach conflict situations, to develop children's conflict resolution skills, and to promote children's positive interpersonal and intergroup relations. In addition, RCCP attempts to combat prejudice and stereotypes, and the various types of conflict and violence that may arise as a result of these issues, by teaching children how to recognize and oppose prejudice and by increasing their respect for and understanding of diversity. Finally, RCCP aims to transform the overall school culture into one that exemplifies nonviolent conflict resolution and a respect for and openness to diversity.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: SAHARA is a computer-based HIV intervention that targets African American women to promote healthy sexual behaviors to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
Impact: These findings which demonstrate major improvements in HIV-preventive behaviors suggest that SAHARA is an effective evidence-based promising practice; it is inexpensive and only requires two hours.