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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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Green the Tenderloin (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: Green the Tenderloin provides urban gardening classes, fresh produce, and nutrition education to members of the community.

Growing Healthy Kids Project (Orange County, NC)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families

Goal: The aim of the Growing Healthy Kids Project is to support nutrition, healthy eating, and family unity among local families by providing community gardening space.

Grown in Ivanhoe (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: Grown in Ivanhoe strives to achieve a just and equitable food environment in the Ivanhoe community by ensuring that residents have the information and resources needed to provide healthy, affordable foods for themselves and their families.

Impact: Grown in Ivanhoe has increased local food production and established resources for access to healthy foods.

Harvest for the Hungry Garden (Santa Rosa, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Older Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of HFHG is to grow and donate organic fruits and vegetables to the needy in Sonoma county.

Health Care for the Homeless (Manchester, NH)

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

Goal: The goal of the Health Care for the Homeless program is to provide health care for individuals and families who are currently struggling with homelessness.

Health Education to Reduce Obesity (HERO) (Jacksonville, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: To combat childhood obesity through mobile health education, community partnership, and access to existing federal, state, and local health and nutrition programs.

Health Through Art (Berkeley )

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To use the powerful methods of mass media to market positive attitudes and healthy lifestyle choices and to provide dynamic messages against substance abuse, racism, violence and mental health stigma.

Healthy Eating Lifestyle Program (HELP) (Los Angeles)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: The program's goal is to help overweight children aged 5-12 years and their families adopt healthier eating habits and increase physical activity.

Healthy Eating, Active Communities (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) aims to fight the growing childhood obesity epidemic in California and to develop state policy changes that will reduce the risk factors for diabetes and obesity.

Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) (Sonoma, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families

Goal: The goal of the HEAL initiative is empower communities to make changes in their physical and social environment to improve nutrition and physical activity.

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.