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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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American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) (Des Plaines, IL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The American Brain Tumor Association exists to eliminate brain tumors through research and to meet the needs of brain tumor patients and their families.

Anchorage Youth Court (Anchorage, AK)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban

Goal: Anchorage Youth Court gives youth offenders personal accountability; youth attorneys good training and the opportunity to make a significant difference in others' lives; and the public an effective and comprehensive public safety system.

Appalachian Violence Outreach Network (AVON) (Kentucky)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Rural

Goal: The goal of the Appalachian Violence Outreach Network is to identify and provide services to women living in rural, underserved areas that have experienced interpersonal violence.

Ask Elizabeth: empowerment workshops for adolescent girls

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: To empower and support adolescent females and provide a safe forum for girls to ask questions and solve problems.

Aspirnaut™ Program (Arkansas, Maine, Montana, Tennessee)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens, Rural

Goal: The goal of the program is to elevate math and science achievement of students in rural communities through the use of technology.

Assisted Competitive Employment Project (ACE) (Syracuse, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Assisted Competitive Employment Project is to assist individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder in obtaining and maintaining employment.

Asthma Safe Kids (Philadelphia area, PA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the triggers of asthma by educating and increasing awareness to at risk populations.

Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown program is to raise awareness and sales of locally grown farm products.

Be Food Safe (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of Be Food Safe is to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness by instructing consumers in proper procedures for handling and preparing food.

Best Workplaces for Commuters (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the environmental impact of commuting and to help get employees to work safely, on time, and free of commute-related stress.

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.
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