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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.

Practices that were submitted by local partners are listed first and will have a green box below them that indicates they are local. Users can also use the search features to find promising practices from across the country.

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Direct Mailing of Fecal Occult Blood Tests to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening (Wright County, MN)

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

Goal: The goal of this program was to increase colorectal cancer screening using direct mailings of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kits for noninvasive colon cancer screening.

Impact: Direct mailing of FOBT kits resulted in an increase in self-reported colon cancer screening adherence.

Drivers Under the Influence Intensive Supervision Program (Multnomah County, OR)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety

Goal: The goal of the DISP program is to reduce drunk driving among alcohol traffic offenders.

Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Women

Goal: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) is a community-based intervention program to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their infants in Klamath County, Oregon.

Impact: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) educates pregnant women about dental hygiene to prevent dental infection in their children. Ninety-three percent of all participating infants were 100% cavity-free on their second birthday.

Emergency Department Means Restriction Education

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety

Goal: The goal of Emergency Department Means Restriction Education is to help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate action to restrict access to firearms, alcohol, and prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the home in order to lessen the risk of self harm.

Impact: The Means Restriction program shows that ED-based programs and provided practical information can help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate, new action to restrict access to dangers in the home.

Engaging Men and Boys of Color to Improve Mental Wellbeing (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Men and Boys is a national initiative to transform community conditions that influence mental wellbeing. The Prevention Institute works with 13 communities across the U.S. to shift policies, practices, and norms to create greater opportunities for health and resilience, with particular focus on veterans and men and boys of color.

Enhanced Opening Doors (California, Louisiana, New York, Ohio)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve outcomes among Community College students who are on academic probation.

Impact: Enhanced Opening Doors helps low-income students earn college credentials as the pathway to better jobs and further education.

EnhanceFitness (Seattle, WA)

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

Goal: The goal of EnhanceFitness is to encourage older adults to engage in regular physical activity to improve their health and well-being.

Impact: EnhanceFitness participants reported a 13% improvement in social function, a 52% improvement in depression, and a 35% improvement in physical functioning. Additionally, participants' healthcare costs were 21% less than those of non-participants after one year.

Evaluating Undoing Racism and Health Equity Training with a State Health Department

Filed under Good Idea, Health

Goal: In this particular instance, the goal of the Undoing Racism Workshops was to enhance the capacity of the Michigan Department of Community Health's Bureau of Family, Maternal & Child Health to reduce racial disparities in infant mortality.

Impact: The Undoing Racism workshop helped to increase competency in the following topics:
-Racial prejudice and racism
-Racial privilege and power
-Institutional, cultural, and internalized racism
-Instiutional norms and practices
-Racial health disparities
-Social determinants of racial health disparities

Every Baby to 1

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families

Goal: Every Baby to 1 works to ensure every infant survives and thrives during their first year of life. Every Baby to 1 engages the faith community to develop education efforts and initiatives that address infant mortality. As a part of this, Every Baby to 1 promotes the "3 S" approach of Safe Sleep, Safe Space, and Social Support to reduce the risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID).

Families And Schools Together (FAST) (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Adults

Goal: The overall goal of the FAST program is to intervene early to help at-risk youth succeed in the community, at home, and in school and thus avoid problems such as adolescent delinquency, violence, addiction, and dropping out of school.

Impact: FAST has generally improved aggressive behaviors and increased positive behaviors amongst participants as reported by teachers and parents.

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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