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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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Flexible Scheduling

Local

Filed under Local, Good Idea, Economy, Adults

Goal: Expected Beneficial Outcomes: Improved health outcomes; Increased job satisfaction; Reduced absenteeism; Increased productivity. Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes: Improved mental health; Improved work-life balance; Increased sleep; Reduced stress; Increased well-being.

Childhood Matters/Nuestro Niños (Northern California)

Local

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

Goal: The programs’ mission is to inform and inspire parents and all who care about children so that every child may be happy, healthy, and thrive.

Living Wage Laws

Local

Filed under Local, Good Idea, Economy, Adults

Goal: Expected Beneficial Outcomes: Increased earnings; Reduced poverty.

Paid Sick Leave Laws

Local

Filed under Local, Good Idea, Economy, Adults

Goal: Expected Beneficial Outcomes: Increased access to paid leave; Increased access to health care. Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes: Improved health outcomes; Increased use of parental leave.

The Homeless Garden Project (Santa Cruz County, CA)

Local

Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The goals of the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) are to offer a supportive, meaningful work environment that encourages self-esteem, responsibility, and self-sufficiency; to integrate homeless people and the community in the security and beauty of a productive garden; and to put into practice the principles of economic and ecological sustainability.

Unemployment Insurance (UI)

Local

Filed under Local, Good Idea, Economy, Adults

Goal: Expected Beneficial Outcomes: Increased financial stability; Improved well-being. Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes: Increased food security; Reduced poverty; Reduced suicide; Reduced crime; Improved academic outcomes; Improved health outcomes.

Mailed Psychoeducational Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Screening (England)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among older adults.

Impact: Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher colorectal cancer screening attendance, as well as having more positive attitudes about screening and placing a higher priority on screening.

Heart to Heart (Florence, SC)

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

Goal: The goal of the Heart to Heart program is to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

Availability and Consumption of Drinking Water in Middle Schools: A Pilot Study (Los Angeles)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: To improve drinking water consumption among adolescents.

Impact: This study shows that provision of filtered, chilled drinking water in school cafeterias coupled with promotion and education is associated with increased consumption of drinking water at school.

Boston Public Schools Snack and Beverage Policy (Boston, MA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: To decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Boston public schools.

Impact: Data from Boston youth indicated that policy changes restricting the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in schools can cause significant reductions in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and are promising strategies to reduce adolescents’ intake of unnecessary calories.

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.
Santa Cruz