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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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Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in the District of Columbia (IMPACT DC) (District of Columbia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of IMPACT DC is to improve access to asthma education and care coordination through the emergency department.

In Our Own Back Yard (Sonoma, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children

Goal: The goal of the In Our Own Back Yard program is to cultivate connection to, comfort in, and informed appreciation of the outdoors among participants.

Increased Medicaid Reimbursements to Enhance Breast/Cervical Cancer Screening Project (Leon County, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase breast and cervical cancer screening among medically underserved women.

Independent Transportation Network (Portland, ME)

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

Goal: The mission of this program is to provide a community-based, and community supported, economically viable and consumer-oriented, quality transportation service for seniors.

Infant Health and Development Program

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children

Goal: The goal of this program was to reduce health and developmental problems for low-birth-weight and premature infants.

Jacksonville Network for Strengthening Families (Jacksonville)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Jacksonville Network for Strengthening Families program is to provide training, services, and support to Jacksonville families in an effort to increase prepared marriages, reduce divorce rates, and increase financial and emotional support of children by non-custodial parents.

Jail Linkage Project (Pinellas County, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The goal of the Jail Linkage Project is to connect the incarcerated population with health care screening and prevention services.

JumpStart (Wisconsin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to assist low-income households in obtaining a personal vehicle.

Keep It Up (New York, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Keep It Up is to provide health screening and preventative care to Black men to promote HIV prevention and other health problems.

Little Ones, Big Questions (Palmer, AK)

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

Goal: Little Ones, Big Questions is hosted by Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, with a mission of progressive, competent and quality health care for the growing community through the teamwork of families, doctors, employees and volunteers.

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.