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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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The Fall-Asleep Pacifier (Finland)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Rural

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the dental cavity rate among children.

The Food Safety Tool Box (Columbus, OH)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Food Safety, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks by educating licensed operators and food employees of proper food safety procedures.

The Medication Assistance Program (MAP) (Grant County, NM)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: The mission of the Health Council is to enhance the quality of life in Grant County, New Mexico, through assessment of needs, planning and prioritizing, and coordinating of efforts to meet those needs.

The Millennium Project

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance

Goal: The Project's central objective is to provide information to decision makers and training materials to add focus to important issues, clarify choices and improve the quality of decisions by making future opportunities and dangers more explicit. The Project is not a one-time study of the future, but provides an on-going capacity for global research and collaboration.

The Pawtucket Heart Health Program (Pawtucket, RI)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program was to reduce risk factors which impact cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

The Taunton Oral Health Collaborative (Taunton, MA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Teens, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide free and reduced-cost oral health services to children and adults.

The Virginia Cardiovascular Health Program (Virginia)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve blood pressure monitoring and treatment.

Using Ten Techniques to Sustain a Successful Mentoring Relationship (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: To promote and maintain successful mentoring relationships between youth and adults.

Videophone Monitoring of SARS Patients in Voluntary Home Isolation (Nassau County, NY)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The goal of this program is to protect the public from the spread of SARS by using the least restrictive means possible. Program objectives are1) to provide a mechanism for effectively monitoring patients on voluntary home isolation and quarantine, 2) to enable visual verification of patient compliance and condition, and 3) to maximize limited resources by being cost-effective and time-efficient.

Viva la Vida (California)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: The purpose of the Viva la Vida project was to improve diabetes care for Latino Medicare beneficiaries and decrease the disparity in A1C testing between Whites and Latinos.

Impact: A1C testing rates increased for both White and Latino Medicare beneficiaries. The testing disparity between Whites and Latinos decreased during the study period.

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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