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, Health / Cancer
Goal: The goal of this campaign is to increase screening for colon cancer.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program was to increase colorectal cancer screening recommendations and completion rates at a Veterans Affairs medical center.
Impact: Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in the intervention group received more recommendations for colorectal cancer screening and completed more screening tests compared to those in the control group.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease barriers and increase rates for colorectal cancer screening among low-income, non-English speaking patients.
Direct Mailing of Fecal Occult Blood Tests to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening (Wright County, MN)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
Goal: The goal of this program was to increase colorectal cancer screening using direct mailings of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kits for noninvasive colon cancer screening.
Impact: Direct mailing of FOBT kits resulted in an increase in self-reported colon cancer screening adherence.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to increase provider recommendation and patient compliance with colorectal cancer screening at a federally qualified health center serving low-income patients.
Impact: The intervention appears to be a feasible means to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among patients served by community health centers. However, more attention to patient decision making and education may be needed to further increase screening rates.
Meal Delivery Programs Reduce the Use of Costly Health Care in Dually Eligible Medicare And Medicaid Beneficiaries (Massachusetts)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: In this study, it was sought to examine whether home delivery of medically tailored meals or non-tailored food reduces the use of selected health care services and medical spending among Commonwealth Care Alliance members. Because there is knowingly an association between food insecurity and emergency room visits, it was hypothesized that the medically tailored meals would cause a reduction in ER visits and other costly healthcare services and expenditures.
Impact: Researchers estimate monthly net savings of $220 per participant for medically tailored meals and $10 per participant for the non-tailored food program. This study suggests that vulnerable patients, in this case, the dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare, can benefit from meal delivery programs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to involve pediatricians to help reduce rates of early childhood caries.
Impact: The multifaceted ECC intervention was associated with increased provider knowledge and counseling, and significantly attenuated incidence of ECC, showing that similar interventions could have the potential to make a significant public health impact on reducing ECC among young children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of this program is to increase colorectal cancer screening rates among older primary care patients.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions
Goal: The goal of this study is to determine how many Community Health Workers (CHW) would be needed to reduce emergency department (ED) visits and associated hospitalizations among their assigned patients to be cost-neutral from a payer's perspective.
Impact: This study adds significant knowledge to the existing literature on CHW programs, and particularly provides critical information to payers that can be used for making decisions on appropriate payment models
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Adolescent Health: Person-to-Person Interventions to Improve Caregivers' Parenting Skills (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Families
Goal: To modify adolescents' risk and protective behaviors by improving their caregivers' parenting skills based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness in reducing adolescent risk behaviors.
Impact: Although the estimated effects varied substantially and were not statistically significant, risk behaviors decreased and youth participants reported increased refusal skills and self efficacy for avoiding risky behaviors in the future.