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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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Learn To Be ... Tobacco Free (Suffolk County, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use

Goal: The goals of this program are to prevent the next generation from becoming addicted to nicotine, to help those addicted to quit, and to reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for all residents.

Let Each One Teach One (Denver, CO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens

Goal: The program aims to enhance the protective factors of academic performance, attachment and commitment to school, consistent enforcement of rules regarding behavior, and attachment to prosocial role models.

Linking Learning to Life (Chittenden County, VT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of LLL is to improve the educational performance and advancement, and the employment and career prospects of all Chittenden County students.

Live Well Omaha Kids (Omaha, NE)

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

Goal: The mission of Live Well Omaha Kids is to help all children living in Omaha achieve improvements in nutrition and physical activity.

Menominee Nation’s Culturally Informed Settings Across Systems

Filed under Good Idea, Health

Impact: Among other improvements, the 4-year graduation rate for Menominee Indian High School increased from less than 60% in 2008 to 92% for the 2015-16 school year.

Mental Health and Mental Illness: Interventions to Reduce Depression Among Older Adults Clinic-Based Depression Care Management

CDC

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.

Michigan Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (Genesee County, Michigan)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption behavior in participants of the Women, Infants, and Children program in Genessee County, Michigan.

Impact: Participants of the program increased their fruit and vegetable consumption and the program had a positive effect on participants attitudes toward consuming fruits and vegetables.

Mineral Belt Trail (Leadville, CO)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of the Mineral Belt Trail is to provide safe access throughout Leadville, CO to schools, historic areas, and natural landscapes.

Motivational Enhancement (ME) First/ME After (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of ME First/ME After is to address the gap in treatment resources for individuals waiting to be admitted to treatment for substance abuse or who are reintegrating back into the community after treatment by supporting motivation for change, increasing wellness and decreasing recidivism.

Impact: Over 200 clients participated in the ME First program in 2013. Approximately 80% of these clients completed the program and entered treatment for substance abuse with increased motivation for change.

New York City's Phase Out of Artificial Trans Fat (New York)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Urban

Goal: On December 5, 2006, the NYC Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect.

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.