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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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Save Money and the Environment Too (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: Through regional media campaigns BayROC promotes personal action and behavior change to reduce waste.

Senior Companions (North Tazewell, VA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the Senior Companion program is to pair low-income adult volunteers with homebound older adults in order to provide senior services to the elderly, as well as provide benefits to the Senior Companions.

SmartWay Transport Partnership (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this partnership is to improve the environmental performance and fuel efficiency of the US freight sector (truck & rail) through the use of a voluntary market incentive system and to encourage retailers/end users to choose trucking and/or rail companies that are environmental leaders in their respective industry segments.

Special Diabetes Program for Indians (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians is to provide diabetes education and services to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Special Infant Formula Distribution Program (Lancaster County, PA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide affordable and easily accessible physician prescribed special formula to babies with special dietary needs due to health problems.

Standing Rock Indian Reservation Cancer Screening Program (Morton County, ND)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Women's Health, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this screening program is to increase cancer education and screening among men and women of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

STARS (Start Taking Alcohol Risks Seriously) for Families (Florida)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is for youths to postpone alcohol use until adulthood.

Stop Waste (Alameda County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The Waste Management Authority and the Source Reduction and Recycling Board form an integrated Agency dedicated to achieving the most environmentally sound solid waste management and resource conservation program for the people of Alameda County. Within this context, the Agency is committed to achieving a 75% and beyond diversion goal and promoting sustainable consumption and disposal patterns.

STOP-DWI (New York)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Broome County STOP-DWI comprehensive DWI countermeasure program is to improve highway safety by preventing drunk driving through increased certainty of arrest and conviction.

Telecommuting Program - Arizona (Maricopa County, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The State of Arizona's original interest in telecommuting arose out of the search for solutions to common issues facing many areas in the United States: traffic congestion, air pollution, and energy consumption. However, Arizona has found that telecommuting is a powerful management tool that increases employee productivity while reducing the cost of employee turnover.

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.