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.

Submit a Promising Practice

National Coalition for Food-Safe Schools

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the National Coalition for Food-Safe Schools is to reduce foodborne illness in the U.S. by improving food safety in schools.

Project Open Hand (San Francisco, Alameda)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The program’s mission is to meet community nutrition needs through programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, the homebound critically ill, and seniors.

Put Illinois To Work (Illinois)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate, Adults

Goal: The program’s goal is to support disadvantaged workers and struggling businesses through the economic recovery process.

Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts by building small grocery stores that provide alternatives to convenience stores or fast foods.

Impact: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts.

The Key Clubhouse of South Florida (Miami-Dade County, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Urban

Goal: The mission of The Key Clubhouse is to afford people who have been disrupted by mental illness the opportunity to recover meaningful and productive lives through reintegration in the workplace and the community.

Impact: Individuals who participate in a Clubhouse program have been found to have higher rates of employment, reduced hospitalization, reduced incarceration, and improved well-being as compared with other mental health programs.

The Living Room (DuPage County, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders

Goal: The end goal of The Living Room is to reduce recidivism to the hospital and pair those in need with the right resources to help them be able to handle their mental health crises and move away from using The Living Room. Additionally, a main goal of The Living Room is matching those in need with a particular peer specialist to create a lasting connection.

Impact: Connects individuals experiencing mental health illness or crises to peer specialists which help reduce recidivism to the emergency room or hospital, help manage future crises, and provide a connection to continued non-clinical support and resources.

Utilization of Food Sample Results to Improve Food Safety (Maricopa County, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Food Safety

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the risk of foodborne illness for Maricopa County citizens and visitors by using food sample results to address complaints and increase the efficacy of routine inspections.

Villa-Parke Community Garden (Pasadena, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The mission of the Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy is to improve family health in urban food desert neighborhoods through grants for community gardens and nutrition education.

Impact: Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy partnered with the City of Pasadena to establish the Villa-Parke Community Center, where community members can learn about gardening, cooking, nutrition.

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults

Goal: The goal of WRAP is to teach participants recovery and self-management skills and strategies.

Impact: The WRAP program shows that the efficacy and effectiveness of peer-led self-management interventions has the potential to enhance self-determination and promote recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities.

A Matter of Balance

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader (MOB/VLL) program is designed to reduce the fear of falling, stop the fear of falling cycle, and improve the activity levels among community-dwelling older adults. The goal of the program is to use volunteer lay leaders as facilitators, in order to make the program affordable to offer in the community setting.

Impact: When following up one year after the program, participants reported significant gains in fall management and there was a trend to increased exercise level as well. In addition, participants sustained a reduction in monthly falls.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.