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 Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
Goal: The purpose of Withdrawal.org is to help people who are suffering from addictions get past the hurdle of withdrawal and regain control of their lives.
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.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Women
Goal: The goal of the WOMAN Study is to reduce the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis by reducing weight and waist circumference through dietary changes and physical activity.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: This project seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of both providing the intervention and recruiting participants in a community setting.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women, Rural
Goal: Women to Women aims to provide social support for chronically ill rural women to positively affect social support, self-esteem, empowerment, self-efficacy in order to decrease stress, depression, and loneliness to improve one’s adaptation to living with a chronic disease.
The overall goal of WTW is to use technology to enhance the potential for rural women to more successfully adapt to their chronic illnesses through computer-based support and education research by providing support groups and health education via the Internet.
Impact: The WTW project shows that computer-based interventions can result in improved self-esteem, social support, and empowerment among rural women with chronic illness.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Men
Goal: The goal of this exercise program was to reduce the incidence of diseases related to lifestyle, such as cerebrovascular diseases and ischemic heart diseases, and to preserve and promote workers' health.
Impact: The exercise program proved to be effective in increasing adaptive walking speed and in lowering waist to hip ratio.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy, Adults
Goal: Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education.
Impact: These approaches tend to be intensive and comprehensive, address psycho-social skills as well as occupation-specific competencies, provide opportunities for work-based learning, engage employers, incorporate evidence-based practices, and emphasize continuous improvement.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Disabilities, Children
Goal: The purpose of Access Living's Y.I.E.L.D. (Youth for Integration through Education, Leadership and Discovery) the Power Project was to increase the participation of youth with disabilities in mainstream workforce development activities through a variety of youth-led systems change initiatives. Specific goals included the following:
-Train 100 youth with disabilities to become leaders in the disability community and other sectors of their communities
-Witness and document systems change in at least 10 WIA (Workforce Investment Act)-assisted youth programs in Chicago through trainings and focused one-on-one technical assistance
-Provide paid and unpaid work experiences for youth with disabilities.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Adults
Goal: The goal is for participants to lose seven percent of their body weight and increase their physical activity to 150 minutes per week in order to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The McLean County program's mission is "to offer young people a once in a lifetime opportunity to build their futures and their communities through education, leadership development, job training, and the rehabilitation and production of affordable housing, while keeping a profound respect for and a commitment to real partnership with youth."