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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Focus on Youth is to teach youth the skills and knowledge they need to protect themselves from HIV and other STDs.
Impact: The Focus on Youth intervention increased self-reported condom use and positively affected perceptions six months after the end of the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Governance, Children, Urban
Goal: To advocate for children and help them resolve their most pressing legal problem: being in the custody of the state when they need to be in the custody of a family - biological or adoptive - within the 12 months provided by law.
Impact: Children represented by the Foster's Children Project were more likely to exit the foster system to permanency due to higher rates of adoption and long-term custody, but not reunification, than their peers not represented by FCP.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults
Goal: The goal of FAST is to improve patients' independence and quality of life.
Impact: Studies have shown that FAST-treated patients' performance on everyday living skills improved significantly compared to non-participants. They also demonstrated significant improvement in social and communication skills at 6-month follow-up.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Children, Teens, Women
Goal: The goal of Girls' Circles is to enhance girls' abilities so they are able to take full advantage of their talents, academic interests, career pursuits, and potential for healthy relationships.
Impact: The program has shown statistically significant improvements for girls in Girls Circle programs with the following outcomes: increases in self-efficacy, attachment to school, positive body image, and social support, and decreases in self-harming behavior and alcohol use rates.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Family Planning, Teens
Goal: The goals of GO! are:
- to delay the initiation of sexual intercourse among males ages 12-14 to reduce teenage pregnancy in Frederick County
- to increase parent child communication
- to increase community awareness regarding adolescent sexuality
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Older Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of HFHG is to grow and donate organic fruits and vegetables to the needy in Sonoma county.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To evaluate the association of a “Housing First” intervention for chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems with health care use and costs.
Impact: Total cost offsets for Housing First participants relative to controls averaged $2449 per person per month after accounting for housing program costs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends center-based early childhood education programs (ECE) to improve educational outcomes that are associated with long-term health as well as social- and health-related outcomes. Economic evidence indicates there is a positive return on investment in early childhood education. The benefits from students' future earnings gains alone exceed program costs.
If targeted to low-income or racial and ethnic minority communities, ECE programs are likely to reduce educational achievement gaps, improve the health of these student populations, and promote health equity.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The goal of full-day kindergarten programs is to prepare children academically, socially, and emotionally for effective participation in the educational system.
Impact: Children who enroll in full-day kindergarten programs see improved scores on standardized tests and assigned grades than those enrolled in half-day kindergarten programs. Those enrolled in full-day programs also see increased social-emotional health.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends tenant-based housing voucher programs to improve health and health-related outcomes for adults based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness. Health-related outcomes include housing quality and security, healthcare use, and neighborhood opportunities (e.g., lower poverty level, better schools).
Children ages 12 years and younger whose households use vouchers show improvements in education, employment, and income later in life. Outcomes for adolescents vary by gender. Females 10-20 years of age whose families use tenant-based vouchers to live in lower poverty neighborhoods experience better health outcomes while males of the same age experience worse physical and mental health outcomes. Additional research is needed to better understand and address challenges faced by adolescent males.
CPSTF finds societal benefits exceed the cost of tenant-based housing voucher programs that serve families with young children who are living in public housing, provide pre-move counseling, and move families to neighborhoods with greater opportunities.
Tenant-based housing voucher programs give many people access to better housing and neighborhood opportunities, both of which are considered social determinants of health. Because these programs are designed for households with low incomes, they are expected to advance health equity.