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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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Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team (Orange County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Public Safety, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of the TARGET program is to reduce gang crime by selectively incarcerating the most violent and repeat (recidivist) gang offenders (based on their criminal records).

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Screening, and Intervention Program (Los Angeles)

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

Goal: The program's goal is to provide screening, education, and support services for patients at high risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and for those already diagnosed with the disease.

Vandenberg AFB QRP Exceeds 90% Diversion Rate (Santa Barbara County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce waste and encourage recycling at Vandenberg AFB.

Vietnamese REACH for Health Initiative (VRHI) (Santa Clara County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Vietnamese REACH for Health Initiative is to promote awareness and use of breast and cervical cancer screening.

Vision Literacy (Santa Clara, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy, Adults

Goal: Vision Literacy aims to empower adults by improving reading, writing, basic math, and computer skills.

Walk the Talk (San Francisco)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: Walk the Talk nurtures community involvement and leadership in individuals.

Water for Health in Secondary Schools (England)

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

Goal: In order to promote drinking water for general health, the goal of the program is to improve access to fresh drinking water for students in select schools in England.

Water Jets in School Cafeterias (New York)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to improve access to fresh drinking water as a calorie-free beverage option in select NYC school cafeterias at lunchtime.

WHACK the Flu (Berkeley, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children

Goal: The goal of the WHACK the Flu project was to provide strategies for children to employ to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases to their families and other contacts.

Women Overcoming Violence (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Women, Urban

Goal: Women Overcoming Violence assists women who are victims of domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues in their recovery using a unique, holistic approach.

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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