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 Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults
Goal: The goal of Maryland's Prevention Case Management program is to decrease HIV transmission following release from prison.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends depression care management in primary care clinics for older adults with major depression or chronic low levels of depression (dysthymia) on the basis of sufficient evidence of effectiveness in improving short-term depression outcomes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults
Goal: The goal of this media campaign was to increase public knowledge of the warning signs of stroke.
Impact: The ability to name the warning signs of stroke increased in communities exposed to television ads.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural
Goal: The goal of the North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program is to increase breast cancer screening among older African American women.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Families
Goal: The mission of the North Carolina Fruits and Veggies Nutrition Coalition is to build a healthier North Carolina by increasing access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults
Goal: The goal of the North Dakota Diabetes Care Provider Report is to improve quality of diabetes care and management in the state.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban
Goal: The goal of Parent Connext is to support parents in reducing and/or preventing toxic stress in the family and help children develop critical life skills and coping skills. Recent studies have found that up to 50% of health outcomes are attributable to social and economic factors and that lifetime costs associated with child maltreatment are comparable to other costly healthcare conditions such as stroke or type 2 diabetes. Moreover, 4 in 5 physicians report lacking confidence in their ability to meet patients’ social needs, which can impede their ability to provide high quality medical care. As a result, interventions that target parents’ social needs may have important implications for reducing healthcare costs and have the added benefit of enabling physicians to provide high-quality care to their patients.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Community AIDS Prevention Program is to educate inner city Latino adolescents about how to reduce risk related to HIV/AIDS, and to encourage sexually active teens to use condoms.
Impact: This program shows that prevention programs targeting HIV/AIDS risk-reduction strategies and condom use encouragement can delay male initiation of sexual intercourse, reduce females' number of sexual partners, and increase likelihood of possessing a condom among sexually active youth.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
Goal: To promote water consumption with an educational and environmental intervention in elementary schools of deprived urban areas to prevent overweight.
Impact: This program shows that environmental and educational, school-based interventions can have effective impact in the prevention of overweight among children in elementary school, even in a population from socially-deprived areas.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Women, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of Promotores de Salud is to improve the delivery of healthcare to under-served Latinos by using trained community members (Promotores) to bridge the gap between Latinos and healthcare providers.