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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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Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) (Wisconsin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase the academic achievement of children living in poverty.

Student Talking About Non-violent Dating (STAND) (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to provide education, support, and training to middle and high school students in San Francisco on how to address sexual violence.

Summer Bridge (Marin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The program's goal is to help four- and five-year old children become better prepared for kindergarten.

Sun Smart Tips (Denver, CO)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of this campaign was to educate park visitors about the need to protect themselves from the damaging rays of the sun and how best to prevent skin cancer.

SuperTracker (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Families

Goal: SuperTracker aims to empower Americans to make healthier choices in nutrition and physical activity, based on personal preferences, lifestyle, and health status.

Syphilis Elimination Effort (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce syphilis prevalence in the United States and eliminate the syphilis health disparity.

Syracuse Family Development Research Program (Syracuse, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children

Goal: The goal of this program was to improve child and family functioning.

Syracuse Healthy Start (Onondaga County, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide prenatal care services to incarcerated pregnant women.

Tai Chi for Diabetes (Sydney, Australia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the “Tai Chi for Diabetes” program was to improve health-related outcomes for
individuals diagnosed with type II diabetes in areas of mobility and physical function.

Take Back the Park (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Art & Recreation / Sports Recreation & Parks, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide positive recreational, cultural, and educational activities for young people and adults in New York neighborhoods.

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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