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.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The Initiative's goal was to increase voter participation rates among infrequent voters, particularly in low-income and ethnic communities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to foster academic success among at-risk students.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to enhance the life options of disadvantaged, urban high school students.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children
Goal: The goal of the Caring School Community program is to build classroom and school communities in order to support learning, academic success, positive relationships and character formation.
Impact: After 3 years, CSC students, relative to their comparison school counterparts, showed a greater sense of the school as a caring community, more fondness for school, stronger academic motivation, more frequent reading of books outside of school, a higher sense of efficacy, stronger commitment to democratic values, better conflict-resolution skills, more concern for others, more frequent altruistic behavior, and less use of alcohol.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
Goal: The Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program's goal is to provide comprehensive youth development services and reduce teen pregnancy among economically disadvantaged teenagers.
Impact: Pregnancy prevention programs can work successfully among females when started early in adolescence and when male counterparts are also educated appropriately on condom-use and delayed sexual actively onset.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force has found that community water fluoridation is effective in decreasing dental caries across populations.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Prevention of Birth Defects: Community-Wide Campaigns to Promote the Use of Folic Acid Supplements (USA)
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.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Adults
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends mass media campaigns to reduce alcohol-impaired driving under certain conditions. These conditions include carefully planned and well-executed campaigns; adequate audience exposure; and settings with ongoing alcohol-impaired driving prevention activities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of CHOPPS is to prevent childhood obesity by reducing the consumption of carbonated drinks among adolescents aged 7-11 through the implementation of an educational program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: The goal of Communities That Care is to mobilize communities to prevent future substance abuse by reducing risk factors for children between the ages of 10 and 14.
Impact: Communities That Care reduces initiation of substance abuse behaviors in youth aged 10-14.