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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.

Please note: Separate your search terms with spaces, and use quotes to search for specific text (example: "mental health"). 

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Local Shuttles Connecting Neighborhoods - Boulder, Colorado, Community Transit System (Boulder, CO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: GO Boulder's mission is to develop a sustainable and balanced transportation system supporting the quality of life valued by Boulder's residents, employees, and visitors.

Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA) (Long Beach, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma is to raise awareness about asthma to improve clinical outcomes and influence policy change.

McAuley Village (Providence, RI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Families, Urban

Goal: McAuley Village attempts to take poor single parents from a life of welfare dependence to one of independence. Although primarily a housing program, it also holistically addresses the many factors contributing to the vulnerability of these families, while attempting to tailor a solution to each family.

McIntosh Middle School's Coordinated School Health Program (Sarasota, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: The goal of the CSHP is to improve learning, performance, and health for students and teachers.

Measure Up

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: The Measure Up program helps participants lose weight and learn to live healthier lifestyles through better eating habits.

Impact: Participants of the Measure Up program receive personalized assistance from registered dietitians to improve eating and exercise habits.

Medical Nutrition Therapy Program (Mexico)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Medical Nutrition Therapy program is to decrease perinatal complications in pregnant women with type 2 Diabetes in Mexico City.

Medical-Legal Partnerships: Investing in Social Services as a Core Strategy for Healthcare (New York City)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: New York City LegalHealth is a fruitful partnership that operates in 11 clinics of the city's public hospitals. One example is by supporting individuals in tenant-landlord disputes.

Impact: With an average of $225 per case, LegalHealth was able to effectively demand fixes in asthma patients' living conditions. This impact directly resulted in a 90% drop in emergency room visits and hospital admissions for this asthma patient group.

Memphis Central Station (Memphis, TN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of this project was to support community revitalization, retain the integrity of an historic district, and provide transportation links to private land development projects.

Men Unlearning Violence (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Men, Urban

Goal: Men Unlearning Violence helps men transform their relationships with people and with themselves by learning to respond instead of react, and replacing control with intimacy.

Mercy Housing Colorado Affordable Housing (Colorado)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Families

Goal: The goal of Mercy Housing is to create and strengthen Healthy Communities Across America.

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.