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, Community / Public Safety, Teens
Goal: The goal of the Checkpoints Program is to encourage parental limits on teen driving, and decrease risky teen driving.
Impact: The Checkpoints Program increased the rate at which parents placed greater limits on high-risk teen driving conditions and decreased traffic violations among teens.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: The overall program goal is the maintenance of a physically active lifestyle, in order to optimize one's functional capacity and ability to perform daily activities. In order to achieve this goal, the following impact objectives were established:
- Enhance enjoyment and participation in a variety of physical activities
- Develop and enhance the skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy needed to
establish and maintain an active lifestyle
- Ensure the affordability and accessibility of the program
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children
Goal: The program's five main goals are to (1) foster a safe, supportive group environment; (2) facilitate the identification and expression of divorce-related feelings; (3) promote understanding of divorce-related concepts and clarify misconceptions; (4) teach effective coping and interpersonal skills; and (5) enhance positive perceptions of self and family.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of the CLEAR intervention is to empower HIV-positive youth to reduce risk behaviors and improve mental and physical health.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: WomanSpirit aims to foster grassroots women's leadership in the St. Louis area by claiming safe community space for women's mutual support and training, gaining access to government funds for women's economic development, and achieving positions in local, regional and national decision-making bodies.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to relieve symptoms of PTSD, depression, and general anxiety among children exposed to trauma.
Impact: Studies have found significant reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms for treatment children in CBITS when compared with a control group. Additionally, the program demonstrated effectiveness at reducing parent-reported psychosocial dysfunction among participating children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce disability in middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia.
Impact: At the end of treatment, CBSST participants had significantly greater cognitive insight scores, indicating more objectivity in reappraising psychotic symptoms relative to treatment as usual. At 1-year follow-up, participants in CBSST showed greater skill acquisition and significant improvements in social functioning relative to participants receiving treatment as usual.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens
Goal: The goal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Depression is to treat depressive symptoms in adolescents.
Impact: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Depression showed more rapid treatment response than both systematic behavior family therapy and non-directive support therapy. CBT also showed a greater rate of decline in self-reported depression over time.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: Come Home Baltimore is an initiative to develop "better than new" market rate housing and foster forward thinking and grassroots social change towards sustainable community development.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women
Goal: The goal of Commit to Quit is to help female smokers quit smoking through group programming and exercise.