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 / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the Diabetes-Based Science Education for Tribal Schools (DETS) curriculum is to slow or reverse the rising rate of type 2 diabetes in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) youth through a pedagogy based in a combination of a science-based diabetes/health education curriculum and culturally relevant contexts.
Overall, the DETS curriculum shows that collaboratively-developed curriculums and education courses can have an effective impact across grade levels with students having significant knowledge gains, and can also serve as a supplement for other science and social science curriculums in schools.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Women
The goal of CBFRS is to advance the health and development of first-time mothers and infants through a home visit program.
The findings indicate positive health and safety outcomes for first-time mothers and infants in the program: higher household safety levels, higher use of birth control methods, lower smoking behavior, higher knowledge of the effects of smoking on child development, and higher use of county clinics.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children
The goal of the HOPS program was to improve overall health status and academic achievement using replicable strategies.
The HOPS intervention helped students who qualified for free or reduced price meals both stay within the normal BMI percentile and score higher on their state math achievement test.
Home Again: A Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County (Portland and Multnomah County, OR)
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
The goal of this program is to end homelessness in the City of Portland and Multnomah County by 2015. As efforts to end homelessness continue, city and county officials will focus on nine actions. Programs throughout the county will address moving people into Housing First, ending the practice of discharging people into homelessness from jails and hospitals, improving outreach, emphasizing permanent solutions, increasing the housing supply, creating new partnerships, improving the rent assistance system, increasing economic opportunity for homeless people and implementing new data collection technology.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
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.
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.
Increasing Age-Appropriate Immunization Rates for Children in Butler County and Surrounding Area (Butler County, KS)
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Rural
The goal of this program was to increase immunization rates in the Butler County area.
Immunization rates increased from 53.2% to 72.4% and parents reported a better understanding of the importance of timely vaccinations.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
To promote water consumption with an educational and environmental intervention in elementary schools of deprived urban areas to prevent overweight.
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 Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Literacy, Children, Adults, Families
The mission of Reach Out and Read is to help prepare young children to succeed in school, by partnering with physicians to encouraging parents and children to read aloud together.
Reach Out and Read improves children's language development by 3-6 months and improves language ability with increased exposure to the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
The goal of the School Nutrition Policy Initiative is to prevent and reduce overweight and obesity among low-income children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Families, Urban
The objective of this study was to examine the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of the School-Based Asthma Therapy (SBAT) program compared with usual care.
School-Based Asthma Therapy resulted in 158 symptom-free days per month per 100 children and a cost-effectiveness of $10 per symptom-free day.