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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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CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Prevention of Birth Defects: Community-Wide Campaigns to Promote the Use of Folic Acid Supplements (USA)

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Women

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force has found that community-level education campaigns that promote the use of folic acid among women of child-bearing age can increase the number of these women who take folic acid supplements.

Celebrity Colon Cancer Screening Promotional Campaign (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of this campaign is to increase screening for colon cancer.

Change the Future WV (West Virginia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Change The Future WV emphasizes improving access to healthy food options and safe environments for physical activity to create healthier communities in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Impact: Change The Future WV has launched multiple community and school-based interventions to improve dietary behaviors and physical fitness in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Chicago Fitness Plus (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The overall program goal is the maintenance of a physically active lifestyle, in order to optimize one's functional capacity and ability to perform daily activities. In order to achieve this goal, the following impact objectives were established:

- Enhance enjoyment and participation in a variety of physical activities
- Develop and enhance the skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy needed to
establish and maintain an active lifestyle
- Ensure the affordability and accessibility of the program

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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