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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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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.

Post-Assistance Self-Sufficiency (PASS) Program (Riverside, CA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the PASS Program is to promote job retention and advancement among individuals leaving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Impact: The PASS program did not meet the goal of having its participants retain their initial jobs. However, PASS did result in PASS participants being more likely to find new jobs (occasionally with higher earnings) after having lost or moved on from previous jobs.

Something to Smile About Dental Program (Garrett County, MD)

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

Goal: The purpose of the "Something to Smile About" dental program is to improve dental outcomes for children in Garrett County, Maryland.

Violence Intervention Program (VIP) (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse

Goal: The program aims to reduce the frequency and the severity of recidivism
for violent injury and criminal activity among persons
living in and around Baltimore.

Impact: Participants of the Violence Intervention Program saw a decrease in repeat hospitalizations, a decrease in violent crime and a higher rate of employment compared to those not in the program.

Adventure Diversion Program (Carroll County, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Adventure Diversion Program is to reduce the number of out-of-home placements for juveniles who have violated probation.

Bon Secours Community Works "Re-Entry Success" Program (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention

Goal: The goal of the program is to empower individuals to look to themselves to support society after life in prison.

Impact: The program helps people adjust to life after prison.

Bridges . . . from school to work (Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: The Foundation's mission is to foster the employment of young people with disabilities.

Healthy Howard (Howard County, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Healthy Howard opens doors for individuals, groups and communities to improve their health and wellness.

Impact: Healthy Howard provides resources to schools, restaurants, workplaces, and childcare centers to help them improve the health and choices of their students, employees, or clients.

Healthy Workplaces Program (Montgomery)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Adults

Goal: To make businesses healthier, happier and more productive through company-sponsored health and wellness programs.

Humanim (Howard County, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: Humanim's mission is to identify those in greatest need and provide uncompromising human services.

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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