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 / Children's Health, Children, Families
Goal: Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Women
Goal: The goal of this program is to provide reproductive health care services to women and men in the Denver STD clinic.
Impact: Enrollment in family planning services increased significantly. Among women returning within 12 months, pregnancies were lower among enrolled versus non-enrolled women. Total additional cost was $29.95/visit, and 40.1 minutes of additional staff time.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Children, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: Isles' mission is to foster more self-reliant families in healthy, sustainable communities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Urban
Goal: The goal of IT'S TIME is to help women of child-bearing age quit smoking.
Impact: The IT'S TIME program succeeded in helping women quit smoking.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Literacy, Children
Goal: The goal of Itchy's Alphabet is to help children improve their literacy levels.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults mission is "a total community working together to provide services to, and develop skills in, older adults in order to promote independence and enhance their quality of life."
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children, Teens
Goal: LEAP's mission is to "empower people with disabilities in making significant life choices and changes to enhance their employment and independent living opportunities." The Job Link program aims to assist students in making a successful transition from school to employment and adult community life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Men
Goal: The goal of this dental office based intervention is to reduce smokeless tobacco use and other tobacco use.
Impact: The dental office-based intervention succeeded in increasing the rates of smokeless tobacco cessation among participants.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The objective of this program is to increase life skills such as risk assessment, decision-making and drug resistance, while enhancing anti-drug norms and attitudes.
Impact: Evaluation findings suggest that Keepin' it R.E.A.L. succeeded in decreasing substance use, in reducing negative attitudes/behaviors, and in improving positive attitudes/behaviors.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goals of this intervention were to delay initiation of sexual intercourse for youth who are not sexually active, encourage the use of condoms among sexually active youth, and enhance communication about sex between youths and their mothers.
Impact: Keepin' It R.E.A.L. teen participants increased their condom-use during sexual activity while maternal participants reported feeling more comfortable when discussing sexual issues with their teens.