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 Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Both local and state governments face huge challenges in providing senior populations access to public, agency, professional and family caregivers, and community services that allow seniors to remain independent. The complex maze of constantly changing program and service eligibility rules challenge even the most knowledgeable senior service providers. Fragmentation within senior service agencies further results in duplication of services, unnecessary waiting lists, and caregiver and volunteer burnout. This resource attempts to address those problems by providing quick and easy access to a variety of programs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goals of Sister-to-Sister are to eliminate or reduce sex risk behaviors, and to prevent new STD infections.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
This study sought to examine whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and benefit levels are associated with reduced subsequent hospital and emergency department utilization in low-income older adults
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens
The goal of this intervention was to enhance protective factors associated with reducing suicide among high school students.
The Sources of Strength program was successful in increasing students likelihood of seeking help from an adult at school, as well as those adults ability to help suicidal students.
St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center Community-Building/Vocational Services Initiative (Syracuse, NY)
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Adults, Urban
The goal of St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center's Community-Building/Vocational Services Initiative is to revitalize the neighborhood by increasing community development and job placement.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children, Older Adults, Urban
The goal of St. Peter's Dental Program is to improve access to dental care and treatment for the poor, elderly, and under served populations living in and around Albany, New York.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Women's Health, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of this screening program is to increase cancer education and screening among men and women of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families
The Starting Right Initiative works to prevent, treat and reverse childhood obesity and malnutrition in low-income communities.
The Starting Right Initiative aims to encourage healthy eating habits in children and their families and works to reduce childhood obesity and malnutrition at seven project locations nationwide.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children
Kansas’s Step It Up: Taking Steps to Healthy Success (Step It Up) Project aims to work towards making improvements to policies and practices in child care programs with regard to breastfeeding, child nutrition, physical activity, outdoor learning, and reductions in screen time. Step It Up is an extension of the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives Project (ECELC) and uses a similar learning collaborative model.
Step It Up: Taking Steps to Healthy Success has made great improvements in promoting healthy eating and physical activity. The topics of Child Nutrition and Infant & Child Physical Activity had the highest number of increases in best practices. Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding had the highest percentage of best practices being met at pre-assessment (55%).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Urban
To determine whether online peer support will increase adherence to an Internet-based pedometer walking program.
Stepping up to Health shows that online communities can help reduce attrition within online health behavior change interventions.