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
The Congenital Heart Disease Screening Program values early diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) with a goal of making screening for CHD a standard practice for all newborns.
The physicians at Children's National in the National Heart Institute created a toolkit that nurseries may use to start a screening program to improve detection of serious CHD.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Teens
* Educate young people, and by proxy their families, about climate change and everyday actions they can take to reduce their impact locally and globally;
* Reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions in and around schools;
* Encourage student leadership and empowerment;
* Foster a community of teachers/students working together to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and
* Foster a new generation of environmental/air quality advocates.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens
The goal of the D.C. Schoolyard Greening program is to increase and improve schoolyard green spaces in order to promote ecological literacy and environmental stewardship among students, teachers, parents and the community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Rural
The goal of DETS project is to increase the understanding and awareness of diabetes among American Indian and Native Alaskan students in kindergarten through high school through a combination of science lesson and traditional value.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children
The goal of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Exception to Policy program is to increase the amount of Medicaid-enrolled children who receive oral screenings and fluoride varnish applications.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children
The goal of the Farm 2 School program is to improve the health and wellbeing of school-aged children and prevent childhood obesity by providing healthy, seasonal, and locally grown meals to children at school.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Adults, Rural
To get as many age appropriate people screened as possible in the community and to raise awareness about the life-saving practice of colorectal screening.
Many cancers have been found and many have been prevented. The population has expressed gratitude for this program and the partners (such as the pharmacies and the hospital lab) are proud to be part of it.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens
The goal of school-based health centers is to reduce gaps in education and increase health equity in low-income communities.
When targeted to low-income communities, school-based health centers are likely to narrow gaps in education and improve health equity.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
The goal of HSIM is to increase at-risk youth interest in health sciences through its hands-on curriculum on the heart and DNA.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families, Urban
The mission of HKES&I is to increase access to needed healthcare for children. This is accomplished through the goal of identifying children who need further follow-up, particularly for hearing and vision problems, and to connect them to those services.
Healthy Kids Express Screening and Immunization program is successful in providing evidence based care to low-income populations and for connecting those identified with screening needs to needed follow-up care.