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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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Special Infant Formula Distribution Program (Lancaster County, PA)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide affordable and easily accessible physician prescribed special formula to babies with special dietary needs due to health problems.

Sponsor-A-Mind® (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of the Sponsor-A-Mind® program is to supply underprivileged school children and classrooms in less affluent neighborhoods with the basic materials needed to exist and thrive in education.

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center Community-Building/Vocational Services Initiative (Syracuse, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center's Community-Building/Vocational Services Initiative is to revitalize the neighborhood by increasing community development and job placement.

St. Peter's Dental Program (Albany, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of St. Peter's Dental Program is to improve access to dental care and treatment for the poor, elderly, and under served populations living in and around Albany, New York.

Start Strong (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: To create and evaluate new ways to prevent teen dating violence and abuse.

Staying Alive Drug Overdose Prevention and Response Program (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban

Goal: The goals of the Staying Alive program are to teach drug users about how to recognize opiate overdose signs and symptoms, how to respond to any overdose cases by calling 911, and how to use rescue breathing and naloxone administration to reduce life-threatening drug overdose.

Impact: Staying Alive reduces mortality due to opiate and heroin drug overdose.

Strategy: Community Beautification (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families

Goal: The goal of beautification and restoration projects is to restore neighborhoods and communities in order to prevent criminal activity and encourage community engagement.

Strengthening Families Program/Strengthening Hawaii Families (Hawaii)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The program aims to reduce substance abuse risk factors and improve relationships in high-risk families.

Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities (StrongPeople Healthy Hearts)

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

Goal: SHHC targets individual, social, and built environment levels of behavior change and is designed to improve diet and physical activity behaviors, assess and improve local food and physical environment resources, and shift social norms about active living and healthy eating through civic engagement and capacity building.

StrongPeople Strong Bodies

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

Goal: StrongPeople Strong Bodies is a community-based strength training program aimed at mid-life and older individuals. The benefits of strength training for older individuals have been studied extensively and include increased muscle mass and strength; improved bone density and reduced risk for osteoporosis and related fractures; reduced risk for diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and obesity; and improved self-confidence, sleep, and vitality.

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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