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

The Community Osteoporosis Exercise and Prevention Program (Albany, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage weight bearing exercise among seniors and individuals at risk of or suffering with osteoporosis.

The Connect Project (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults

Goal: The Connect Project is a community-based youth suicide prevention program that works to develop a shared knowledge and understanding of suicide prevention within a community.

The Effect of Guided Care Teams on the Use of Health Services

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this study was to determine the effect of interdisciplinary primary care teams on health care utilization by patients with multiple chronic conditions.

Impact: This study concluded that guided care models can significantly impact home health care episodes.

The Heart Truth (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Women

Goal: The Heart Truth aims to inform women about heart disease, particularly women aged 40 to 60 and women of color, who are at higher risk of heart disease.

The HOV System: Guide to High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (Harris County, Texas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of METRO's HOV lane network is to reduce traffic congestion and promote ridesharing and the use of public transportation.

The Incredible Years®

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

Goal: The Incredible Years® Parents, Teachers, and Children Training Series has two long-range goals. The first goal is to develop comprehensive treatment programs for young children with early onset conduct problems. The second goal is the development of cost-effective, community-based, universal prevention programs that all families and teachers of young children can use to promote social competence and to prevent children from developing conduct problems in the first place.

Impact: Studies have shown that children who participate in the programs demonstrate significant improvements in school readiness, emotional regulation, and social skills, as well as reductions in behavior problems in the classroom.

The Internet-based Successful Aging (iSAGE) project

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality

Goal: As medicine becomes more complex and specialized by the minute, the communication gulf between doctors and their patients is becoming progressively insurmountable. The Stanford Internet-based Successful aging (iSAGE) project is a project aimed at improving quality of life and quality of care for all older Americans from diverse backgrounds. iSAGE offers an entirely web-based, video rich immersion training in the principles of successful aging for the general public as well as health workers. It is unique in that it allows learners to specialize in the health and health care of thirteen different ethno-cultural groups commonly seen in the US.

The Living Room (DuPage County, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders

Goal: The end goal of The Living Room is to reduce recidivism to the hospital and pair those in need with the right resources to help them be able to handle their mental health crises and move away from using The Living Room. Additionally, a main goal of The Living Room is matching those in need with a particular peer specialist to create a lasting connection.

Impact: Connects individuals experiencing mental health illness or crises to peer specialists which help reduce recidivism to the emergency room or hospital, help manage future crises, and provide a connection to continued non-clinical support and resources.

Too Good for Drugs

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

Goal: This program is designed to reduce students' intentions to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

Impact: Studies show that the program significantly reduces the proportion of students with intentions to drink alcohol and smoke. Participants also showed significantly increased use of personal and social skills, increased engagement in prosocial behaviors, and decreased engagement in inappropriate social behaviors.

Too Good for Violence (Tampa, FL)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the TGFV program is to help students learn the skills they need to get along peacefully with others and avoid violence.

Impact: Too Good programs empower children with the social-emotional learning and substance abuse prevention skills they need to lead happy and healthy lives.

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.