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 / Older Adults, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults
Goal: StrongPeople Strong Bodies is a community-based strength training program aimed at mid-life and older individuals. The benefits of strength training for older individuals have been studied extensively and include increased muscle mass and strength; improved bone density and reduced risk for osteoporosis and related fractures; reduced risk for diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and obesity; and improved self-confidence, sleep, and vitality.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults
Goal: The goal of SCRIP is to improve cholesterol risk management among patients at risk for coronary heart disease events.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of STRIVE is to reduce risky injection practices among injection drug users with an HCV infection.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to help all students achieve academic success at the highest levels.
Impact: Results suggest that students in the Success for All schools were achieving at significantly higher levels on three of the four reading outcomes as measured by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT-R).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban
Goal: Insite’s mission is to provide a safe environment for people to inject drugs and thus reduce injecting activity in public while linking drug users to health care services such as primary care, addiction counseling and treatment.
Impact: Opening supervised injected facilities have resulted in significant reductions in public injection drug use related issues and increase in referrals to social services and detoxification programs in Vancouver.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults
Goal: To determine whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which addresses food insecurity, can reduce health care expenditures.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens
Goal: The goal of Talking Parents, Healthy Teens is to help parents improve their communication skills with their adolescent children, promote healthy adolescent sexual development, and reduce risky adolescent sexual behaviors.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Adults
Goal: TD Green Streets strives to green cities and towns across Canada by supporting innovative practices in municipal forestry.
Impact: TD Green Streets supports innovative practices in community forestry and has awarded funding to more than 500 communities across Canada. In 2012, 25 projects were funded resulting in the planting of 16,344 trees & shrubs nationwide.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to educate students about alcohol and to prevent alcohol abuse.
Impact: Evaluations showed significant gains in alcohol-related knowledge, significantly better attitudes toward drinking and driving, and reductions in alcohol consumption.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of TeenRehabCenter.org is to give parents the tools they need to be able to talk to their children and teens about drugs and alcohol. By providing these resources, it hopes to prevent more teens and young adults from substance abuse. It also aims to help those who are already struggling by furnishing recovery information that is tailored both for parents and for teens.
Impact: Time spent in treatment is forward progress, since the individual is removed from substance use and negative peer and environmental influences. At least half of teens who graduate from rehab will enjoy an extended period of sobriety. How they follow-up after rehab is over can play a massive role in how strong and stable these healthy habits become.