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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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Mix It Up!

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Teens

Goal: Mix It Up seeks to create inclusive school communities by breaking down social barriers and conflicts that lead to bullying and violence.

Multimodal Substance Abuse Prevention (Philadelphia, PA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce substance use and other illegal behaviors among teenage males.

My Turn (Brockton, MA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: MY TURN's mission is to help youth develop goals, skills and confidence needed to transition successfully into post-secondary education or training and the world of work.

National Capital Asthma Coalition (Washington, DC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the National Capital Asthma Coalition is to form partnerships between organizations to improving the care and outcomes for children and adults with asthma.

National Environmental Performance Track (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of Performance Track is to recognize and encourage top environmental performance among private and public facilities, which go beyond compliance with regulatory requirements to achieve environmental excellence.

Native American Women's Wellness Program (Washington)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage screening and early detection of cancer among American Indian women.

Need for Control: Downshift (Sonoma )

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Teens

Goal: To prevent death and injury from car crashes among teens by reducing driving speed and driver distractions.

Neighborhood Market DrillDown + (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote investments in underserved urban neighborhoods.

New Mexico School-Based Dental Sealant Program (New Mexico)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the New Mexico School-Based Dental Sealant Program is to provide oral health education, dental screenings, and dental sealants.

New York City's Phase Out of Artificial Trans Fat (New York)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Urban

Goal: On December 5, 2006, the NYC Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect.

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.
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