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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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At the Crossroads (ATC) (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: The mission of At The Crossroads is to reach out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need, and provide them with services and programs that will empower them and improve their lives.

Atlanta Streets Alive (Atlanta, GA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: Atlanta Streets Alive seeks to shift the current car-centric dynamic and replace it with a proactive community that comes together on a regular basis to participate in active transportation, physical activity, cultural and artistic endeavors, and to enjoy our neighborhoods and communities from a different perspective-from the street.

B&O Railroad Station (Oakland, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of the restoration of the B&O Railroad Station was to preserve the historic landmark and revitalize the town of Oakland, Maryland.

Baby Love (Rochester, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Teens, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Baby Love program is to improve health outcomes for at-risk mothers and their infants in Rochester, New York, by assisting in identifying potential risks and coordinating pre and postnatal care.

Baltimore Healthy Carryout Project (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Baltimore Healthy Carryout project was to increase healthy food options at carryout facilities and restaurants in Baltimore's low-income neighborhoods.

Impact: The BHC project reached 36.8% more customers during the intervention period than at baseline when comparing intervention carryouts to comparison carryouts. Customers reported purchasing specific foods due to the presence of a photo on the menu board (65.3%) or menu labeling (42.6%).

Bank On San Francisco (San Francisco)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Poverty, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of Bank On San Francisco is to assist low-income San Franciscans in entering the financial mainstream by offering financial education, aide with opening bank accounts, and shaping helpful financial policies through partnerships with the San Francisco Treasurer's Office, local community organizations, and banks.

Baton Rouge Partnership for the Prevention of Juvenile Gun Violence (Baton Rouge, LA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban

Goal: The partnership uses a comprehensive strategy with four specific goals:

1. Carry out a multi-agency law enforcement (suppression) strategy to reduce gun-related and other violent crimes committed by youths 17 and older.
2. Operate an intensive intervention program to reduce the risk factors for the highest risk youths, their families, and the community.
3. Mobilize the community at the grassroots level to address the problems of hard-to-reach families and the highest risk youths.
4. Operate a long-range prevention program that identifies, links, and strengthens existing resources to serve youths who may be at risk.

Bayview HEAL Zone (Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to reduce chronic disease health disparities by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

Impact: The Bayview HEAL Zone has brought together a variety of organizations and supported healthy eating and active living projects in the community.

Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown program is to raise awareness and sales of locally grown farm products.

Be Proud! Be Responsible! (Philadelphia, PA and Trenton, NJ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Urban

Goal: The curricula aim to increase participants' knowledge about the risks of various behaviors and educate participants on how condoms and/or abstinence can effectively be used to lower those risks.

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.