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 Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: To have an EMR system that allows medical professionals to correctly diagnose and address the medical needs of incarcerated patients in the emergency room or in the prison system.
Impact: The program has allowed for greater accessibility and sharing of medical data.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Goal: The goal of the Chemical Management Services model is to reduce chemical use and cost, and to reduce the environmental impact of chemical use.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to ensure the health and safety of children attending day care facilities and the staff who care for them.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Goal: The goal of this program is to protect and improve coastal water quality.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Club HERO is encourage feelings of support at home and school and increase knowledge about the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs to prevent youths' drug use.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to increase cancer screening among individuals with first-degree relatives who have had colorectal cancer.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this project was to promote colorectal cancer screening among Chinese Americans.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to address the needs of juvenile offenders with emotional and behavioral disorders and their families.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of cooperative learning is to establish positive interdependence among students. When positive interdependence is established in group learning situations, the quality of peer interaction improves. Instead of competing with or ignoring one another, students are more likely to promote the success of one another through mutual assistance, emotional support, and the sharing of ideas or resources. These positive social interactions, in turn, encourage greater social acceptance and the development of positive relationships among students and, in educational contexts, promote greater academic motivation and achievement (Johnson & Johnson, 1989, 2005). In fact, research on social interaction suggests that gains in social skills alone are insufficient to reduce social problems among students and encourage more positive peer relations. Only positive interdependence, and the subsequent positive social interactions that arise from it, can motivate youth to re-evaluate previous conclusions regarding the social desirability of others (Bierman, 2004).
Impact: Cooperative learning can have positive effects on adolescent bullying, alcohol use, and tobacco use.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of the CARE Program is to raise community awareness about asthma, coordinate services within target communities, and help families learn how to control and manage asthma.