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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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Colorectal Cancer Screening (North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve early detection of colorectal cancer through regular screening.

Out-of-School Time Care (Colorado)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote the academic success of school-age children while also addressing the needs of working parents who need quality child care services.

Utah Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (Utah)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes

Goal: The goal of this program is to help meet the recommended standards of care for people with diabetes in Utah.

Worksite Wellness Programs for North Carolina Government Employees (North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: To reduce employee risk of developing chronic health conditions and to contain rising health care costs by establishing worksite wellness programs throughout state government.

A Disinfection and Hand Hygiene Program for Schools (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: To reduce gastrointestinal and respiratory illness-related absenteeism in elementary school students by using surface disinfectants.

Block the Sun, Not the Fun (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Children, Families

Goal: The intervention aimed to improve sun protection practices among day care and preschool staff in the daily care of the children. Other goals of the intervention was to improve the sun protection of children by their parents and to educate children about sun protection.

Body & Soul (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Body & Soul program is to encourage African Americans to eat a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables in order to promote health and prevent cancer and other chronic diseases.

Cool Schools Tree Planting and Education Program (Los Angeles)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: Cool Schools aims to reduce energy consumption, improve air quality, teach children about the environment, create greener spaces for children to learn and play, and provide career development assistance to young adults.

Enrolling and Supporting Organizations Who Encourage Donation of Organs, Marrow, Tissue, or Blood (Buncombe County, NC)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement

Goal: In May, 2002, the Buncombe County Medical Society committed to enrolling 100 organizations into the Workplace Partnership initiative. BCMS declared itself "community headquarters" for recruiting Buncombe County businesses and organizations in the Workplace Partnership for Life program, and implemented a plan to support these organizations in their efforts to urge donation.

Fast Track Summer Exposure Camp (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Fast Track camp is to prepare young student athletes to make a successful transition from high school to college academically, athletically, and socially.

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.