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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the Medical Nutrition Therapy program is to decrease perinatal complications in pregnant women with type 2 Diabetes in Mexico City.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Men, Urban
The goals of Mpowerment are to mobilize young gay and bisexual men to reduce sexual risk taking, encourage regular HIV testing, and build positive social connections with peers.
The Mpowerment intervention successfully developed a mechanism to socialize young gay men to safer sex. Since this intervention relies primarily on volunteers, it is relatively inexpensive for communities to maintain and can continue to be made available for future generations.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the Northern Manhattan Start Right Coalition is to increase the timely vaccination coverage rate for the 4:3:1:3:3 series for children ages 19 to 35 months.
The Start Right Coalition increased timely vaccination coverage from 63.0% in 2002 to 96.8% in 2007.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban
The goal of Parent Connext is to support parents in reducing and/or preventing toxic stress in the family and help children develop critical life skills and coping skills. Recent studies have found that up to 50% of health outcomes are attributable to social and economic factors and that lifetime costs associated with child maltreatment are comparable to other costly healthcare conditions such as stroke or type 2 diabetes. Moreover, 4 in 5 physicians report lacking confidence in their ability to meet patients’ social needs, which can impede their ability to provide high quality medical care. As a result, interventions that target parents’ social needs may have important implications for reducing healthcare costs and have the added benefit of enabling physicians to provide high-quality care to their patients.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban
The goal of Pathways to Housing, Inc. is to provide independent housing, treatment services for physical and mental health, and employment to mentally ill individuals who are chronically homeless.
Pathways to Housing has received numerous awards for its projects in New York City, Philadelphia, and D.C. In addition to achieving large effects in terms of housing outcomes, compared with standard care in the community, Housing First also improves community functioning and quality of life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
The goal of Project PREVENT is to reduce behavioral risk factors for colorectal cancer among individuals with positive screenings.
A significantly greater proportion of Project PREVENT participants reduced their multiple risk factor score when compared to the control group (47% vs. 35%). Intervention participants also had significantly greater multivitamin intake and significantly reduced red meat consumption.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Adults
The goal of "Put It Out Rockland" and the entire tobacco control program has been to promote quitting among youth and adults and to reduce the adult smoking rate to 12 percent by 2010.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Governance, Children
The goal of requiring that all Connecticut children receive at least 1 dose of influenza vaccine each year to attend a licensed child care program and preschool setting is to reduce influenza transmission and decrease influenza-associated hospitalizations statewide.
Requiring vaccination for admission into a licensed child care program or preschool program has helped to increase vaccination rates among children in Connecticut and reduced serious morbidity from influenza statewide.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Women, Men, Families, Rural
The goal of the renovation of the Rock Island Railroad Depot was to revitalize the city of Liberal, Kansas.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
To combat the epidemic of violence among Baltimore’s youth and support traditional public safety strategies using a combination of public health and human service models to reduce violence.
It was estimated that the program was associated with 5.4 fewer homicide incidents and 34.6 fewer nonfatal shooting incidents during 112 cumulative months of intervention post observations.