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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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Communicare - a Statewide Volunteer Network of Care Providers (South Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality

Goal: Communicare strives to help patients maintain and improve their health. Through regular doctor's visits and improved medication adherence, patients actively participate in preventive care. Another goal is to reduce the dependence on emergency departments through a free clinic partnership.

Farm to Hospital (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: The goals of Farm to Hospital programs are to create partnerships between local farmers and hospitals in order to bring fresh, healthy food to medical facilities and to create new markets for local farmers.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Natural Resources Defense Council (Santa Monica, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Robert Redford Building is to provide an example of sustainable and efficient design.

Project DIRECT (Diabetes Interventions Reaching and Educating Communities Together) (Raleigh, NC)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: The goal of Project DIRECT is to improve diabetes prevention and care among African Americans in Raleigh, NC.

Steps Program in Austin (Austin, TX)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: CDC's Steps Program funds states, cities, and tribal groups to implement community-based chronic disease prevention programs to reduce the burden of obesity, diabetes, and asthma by addressing three related risk factors: physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use.

The Palmetto Health District: Promoting Healthy Congregations Project (South Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to help prevent cardiovascular disease through education and interventions.

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 Tri-State Stroke Network

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke

Goal: The goal of the Network is to increase public awareness about the signs and symptoms of stroke.

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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