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.

Submit a Promising Practice

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Decreasing Tobacco Use Among Workers: Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Tobacco Use (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends smoke-free policies to reduce secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use on the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness. Evidence is considered strong based on results from studies that showed effectiveness of smoke‑free policies in:

Reducing exposure to secondhand smoke
Reducing the prevalence of tobacco use
Increasing the number of tobacco users who quit
Reducing the initiation of tobacco use among young people
Reducing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, including acute cardiovascular events
Economic evidence indicates that smoke-free policies can reduce healthcare costs substantially. In addition, the evidence shows smoke-free policies do not have an adverse economic impact on businesses, including bars and restaurants.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Diabetes Prevention and Control: Case Management Interventions to Improve Glycemic Control (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force has found that case management helps improve glycemic control for patients with diabetes.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Diabetes Prevention and Control: Disease Management Programs (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes

Impact: The Diabetes Community Guide can improve biological components of diabetes for those treated for either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in both community clinics and managed care organizations.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Early Childhood Development Programs: Comprehensive, Center-Based Programs for Children of Low-Income Families (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Impact: Evidence shows that publicly-funded, center-based, comprehensive early childhood development programs for low-income children aged 3 to 5 years can be effective in preventing delay of cognitive development and increasing readiness to learn.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Interventions to Promote Seasonal Influenza Vaccinations among Healthcare Workers (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults

Impact: Studies found a median increase of 21.0 percentage points in vaccination coverage among participants.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Interventions to Promote Seasonal Influenza Vaccinations among Non-Healthcare Workers (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults

Impact: Studies found a median increase of 21.0 percentage points in vaccination coverage among participants.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Interventions to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors or Increase Protective Behaviors to Prevent Acquisition of HIV in Men Who Have Sex with Men: Individual-, Group-, and Community-Level Behavioral Interventions (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Men's Health, Men

Goal: The goal of the HIV behavioral interventions program is to reduce unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men.

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends individual-level HIV behavioral interventions for adult men who have sex with men to reduce unprotected anal intercourse. Related findings recommend HIV behavioral interventions at the group level and community level.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Preventing Dental Caries: Community Water Fluoridation (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force has found that community water fluoridation is effective in decreasing dental caries across populations.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Preventing Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Increasing Alcohol Taxes (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) has found that increasing the unit price of alcohol by raising taxes can help prevent excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Preventing Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Maintaining Limits on Days of Sale (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults

Impact: In order to prevent excessive alcoholism and related harms, the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends supporting existing limits on days in which alcoholic beverages may be sold.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.