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, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: To combat the epidemic of violence among Baltimore’s youth and support traditional public safety strategies using a combination of public health and human service models to reduce violence.
Impact: It was estimated that the program was associated with 5.4 fewer homicide incidents and 34.6 fewer nonfatal shooting incidents during 112 cumulative months of intervention post observations.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the San Francisco Healthy Corner Stores Project is to bring healthy food to neighborhoods with limited access to fresh produce.
Impact: Four stores in San Francisco were converted to sell fresh produce. Legislation was passed in San Francisco that established Healthy Food Retailer Incentives Program to promote healthy food access in corner stores citywide.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of St. Peter's Dental Program is to improve access to dental care and treatment for the poor, elderly, and under served populations living in and around Albany, New York.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban
Goal: The goals of the Staying Alive program are to teach drug users about how to recognize opiate overdose signs and symptoms, how to respond to any overdose cases by calling 911, and how to use rescue breathing and naloxone administration to reduce life-threatening drug overdose.
Impact: Staying Alive reduces mortality due to opiate and heroin drug overdose.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children
Goal: The goal of the program is to decrease school bullying problems by 1) increasing staff awareness and responsiveness, 2) fostering socially responsible beliefs, and 3) teaching social-emotional skills to counter bullying and promote healthy relationships. Thus the program also aims to promote skills (e.g., group joining, conflict resolution) associated with general social competence.
Impact: Students in the intervention schools reported significantly less acceptance of bullying/aggression, perceived greater adult responsiveness, and felt more responsible to intervene with friends who were bullied (bystander responsibility) than students in the control schools.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts by building small grocery stores that provide alternatives to convenience stores or fast foods.
Impact: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the Stroke Family Support Organizer program is to provide stroke patients and caregivers with information about supportive services.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults
Goal: SHHC targets individual, social, and built environment levels of behavior change and is designed to improve diet and physical activity behaviors, assess and improve local food and physical environment resources, and shift social norms about active living and healthy eating through civic engagement and capacity building.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The Ambulatory Integration of the Medical and Social (AIMS) model aims to address social and environmental factors patients face that may prevent them from following their plan of care, thus impacting their health.
Impact: The AIMS model helps create better supported, less stressed, and better informed consumers and caregivers. There is also evidence to suggest that this model reduces ED usage and 30-day readmissions in participants.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The primary goal of the intervention was to reduce overweight and obesity prevalence among middle school students. Ancillary goals were to improve BMI and fasting insulin values, increase water consumption, reduce consumption of beverages with added sugar, increase healthy food choices, improve self-monitoring, and increase exercise time among sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students.
Impact: School-based programs that aim to address childhood obesity and adiposity may reduce individuals' risk of developing childhood-onset of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.