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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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Violence Intervention Program (VIP) - Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Adults, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) is to reduce the number of repeat victims of intentional violent injury by providing assessment, counseling, and social support from a multi-disciplinary team.

Impact: Patients who participated in the Violence Intervention Program were less likely to be re-hospitalized due to violent injury.

Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goals of the curriculum are to 1) illustrate that violence is preventable, 2) teach students that anger is a normal part of life and that anger can be expressed and channeled in healthy, constructive ways, 3) help students understand that controlling anger and violence is part of maturing, 4) identify positive ways for students to express their anger, and 5) help them think about and use alternatives to violence in conflict situations.

Walking School Bus (Houston, TX)

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

Goal: The goal of the "walking school bus" is to increase children's rates of active commuting to school and physical activity.

Washington State Translation Program (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Government Assistance, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to ensure that Washington's Social and Health Services are available and accessible to all Washington residents.

Web-Based Committed Quitters Stop Smoking Plan

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults

Goal: To increase the abstinence rate of smokers over the age of 18 through a supplemental, online, tailored smoking cessation program.

Impact: The Committed Quitters Stop Smoking Plan has been successful at increasing the abstinence rate for smokers enrolled in the plan. Abstinence was higher for enrollees of the plan after 28 days and after 10-weeks.

Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) (New Jersey)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health, Older Adults

Goal: The WISE Program is a wellness and prevention program targeting older adults, which is designed to help them celebrate healthy aging, make healthy lifestyle choices and avoid substance abuse.

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) (USA)

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

Goal: The goal of WRAP is to teach participants recovery and self-management skills and strategies.

Impact: The WRAP program shows that the efficacy and effectiveness of peer-led self-management interventions has the potential to enhance self-determination and promote recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities.

West Harlem Waterfront Park Project (New York)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Environmental Justice, Children, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goals of the West Harlem Waterfront Park Program are to bridge green spaces along the Hudson River and enhance waterfront access, economic development, and regional transportation alternatives in the West Harlem community.

Wheels that Care (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: Shepherd's Center Central is a local leader in the regional effort to ensure that all people can age successfully with dignity, security, and respect.

Impact: The Wheels that Care program helped 77 older adults attend their necessary appointments and maintain their independence through 1,550 hours of travel time to and from participants' homes and their appointments.

Women Involved in Life Learning from Other Women (WILLOW) (various cities in Alabama and Georgia)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Adults, Women, Urban

Goal: The goal of the WILLOW intervention is to provide women living with HIV/AIDS with the skills and education needed to support safer sexual decisions.

Impact: The WILLOW program succeeded in reducing the number of reported episodes of unprotected vaginal intercourse, increasing the use of condoms and condom self-efficacy, decreasing the incidence of bacterial infections (chlamydia and gonorrhea), and improving HIV knowledge.

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.