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 / Physical Activity, Women
The Illinois WISEWOMAN program (IWP) aims to lower heart disease and other chronic disease risk factors through screening and lifestyle classes for women in high-risk populations in service counties throughout Illinois.
The Illinois WISEWOMAN Program addresses the disproportionate risk of cardiovascular disease among disadvantaged, low-income women. Participation in the program has been shown to improve dietary, physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
The goal of It's Your Game: Keep It Real is to reduce teen pregnancy, prevent STI transmission, and delay teen sexual activity in middle school students.
Participants in the It’s Your Game: Keep It Real intervention program were less likely to initiate sex by the ninth grade when compared to the control group.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children
The goal of the King County Asthma Forum is to improve asthma outcomes among low-income children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) is a research intervention program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior.
Evidence suggests that LIFT can be a useful tool for promoting effective parenting in the home and decreasing aggressive behaviors with peers at school and on the playground. LIFT participants exhibited a decrease in child physical aggression toward classmates on the playground, an increase in teachers' positive impressions of child social skills with classmates, and a decrease in parents' aversive behavior during family problem-solving discussions.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Families
Little Ones, Big Questions is hosted by Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, with a mission of progressive, competent and quality health care for the growing community through the teamwork of families, doctors, employees and volunteers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the program is to identify and follow underserved adult residents with undiagnosed or untreated high blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose, provide education to encourage healthy lifestyle changes and encourage them to seek treatment – anyone without a primary care physician is referred to a participating FQHC.
Among those participants who were followed over time and were able to be reached by phone, there were significant increases in healthy food consumption as well as significant decreases in smoking, fat consumption, and fast food frequency.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the Lowfat Lucy program is to encourage children to drink low-fat white milk.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens
Two of the goals for the Maryland's Tomorrow program are for all seniors to pass Maryland's state tests and graduate, and for all participating students to improve their grade point averages.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women, Urban
The mission of MOMS Orange County is to help mothers and their families have healthy babies by providing health coordination, education, and access to community services. MOMS Orange County’s vision is that all babies born in Orange County are healthy at birth.
Measures such as the percent of babies born at a low birth weight, percent of babies born premature, and the percent of babies admitted to the NICU were all markedly better for program participants when compared to many comparison benchmarks.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens
The goals of this program are to establish a single application for school-based youth prevention programs; provide a common language and approach for parent, community, and student health programs; and reinforce prevention messages from a variety of sources.
Students who received the Michigan Model curriculum had significantly better health outcomes in several areas: social and emotional health, interpersonal skills, aggressive behavior, safety attitudes and skills, physical activity skills, nutrition behavior, drug refusal skills, recent alcohol and tobacco use, and intentions to use alcohol and smoke cigarettes.