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.

Submit a Promising Practice

Mailed Psychoeducational Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Screening (England)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among older adults.

Impact: Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher colorectal cancer screening attendance, as well as having more positive attitudes about screening and placing a higher priority on screening.

Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Sports Program (Milwaukee, WI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children

Goal: Program objectives are to:

- Plan and conduct five sets of interactive tobacco prevention mini-sessions for youth and parents in multiple school-linked settings;
- Plan and implement one annual media advocacy event coordinated with the national Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Plan and conduct tobacco educational outreach and implementation guidance for coaches and athletic staff. Teen Presenters deliver tobacco prevention mini-sessions to younger children, grades 1-6.

Partners on the PATH (Grand Rapids, MI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The project seeks to model how the aging network in partnership with a managed care plan can improve the health outcomes for older adults.

Poder Latino: Community AIDS Prevention Program for Inner-City Latino Youth (Boston, MA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Community AIDS Prevention Program is to educate inner city Latino adolescents about how to reduce risk related to HIV/AIDS, and to encourage sexually active teens to use condoms.

Impact: This program shows that prevention programs targeting HIV/AIDS risk-reduction strategies and condom use encouragement can delay male initiation of sexual intercourse, reduce females' number of sexual partners, and increase likelihood of possessing a condom among sexually active youth.

Pool Cool (MA, HI)

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

Goal: The main objective of Pool Cool is to increase awareness, motivation, and sun protection practices among children ages 5-10 who take swimming lessons.

Impact: The Pool Cool program had significant positive effects on children's use of sunscreen and overall sun-protection habits at swimming pools.

Reducing Environmental Triggers of Asthma (Minnesota)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Reducing Environmental Triggers of Asthma intervention is to improve asthma control by removing environmental allergens and irritants from the home.

Rock Island Railroad Depot (Liberal, KS)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Women, Men, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of the renovation of the Rock Island Railroad Depot was to revitalize the city of Liberal, Kansas.

Seeking Safety

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders

Goal: The goal of this program is to help clients move beyond trauma and substance abuse.

Impact: Multiple evaluations of the Seeking Safety program in various settings have shown positive outcomes for substance abuse/addiction, substance abuse disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

SIDS Risk Reduction Training for Child Care Providers (Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Adults, Women, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The objectives are to increase knowledge of SIDS risk reduction strategies, including sleep position, use of cribs (instead of adult beds and couches), and elimination of bedding.

Impact: Childcare provider behavior related to safe sleep practices can be improved from short, in-person targeted educational sessions.

Stepping On Fall Prevention Workshops (Dane, Wisconsin)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Older Adults

Goal: Stepping On aims to reduce the prevalence of falls among older adults. Falls are not a normal part of aging and the risk and/or prevalence of falls may be decreased by taking certain steps, including vision checks, medication management, strength & balance exercises, and home safety checks. Falls and/or the fear of falling often lead to a loss of independence.

Impact: This evidence-based program demonstrated a 31% reduction in falls among participants in an Australian trial. It reached a 50% reduction in falls among participants in a U.S. workshop.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.