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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.

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Lead Safe Babies (USA)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to ensure that children never become lead poisoned.

Learn, Taste, and Share (Ypsilanti, MI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural

Goal: The primary goal of this program was to increase attendance at education sessions. The program ultimately aimed to improve dietary habits of adult African American females.

Less Talk and More Action -- Protecting Seniors Against West Nile Virus (Yavapai, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Older Adults

Goal: This program aims to protect seniors against West Nile virus exposure.

Let Each One Teach One (Denver, CO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens

Goal: The program aims to enhance the protective factors of academic performance, attachment and commitment to school, consistent enforcement of rules regarding behavior, and attachment to prosocial role models.

Lighten Up (South Carolina)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Lighten Up program is to encourage lifestyle change and improve health through faith-based lessons.

Little Ones, Big Questions (Palmer, AK)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Families

Goal: 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.

Live Healthy Iowa (Iowa)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: The goal of Live Healthy Iowa is to encourage physical activity and weight loss through team-based competition.

Live Well Omaha Kids (Omaha, NE)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban

Goal: The mission of Live Well Omaha Kids is to help all children living in Omaha achieve improvements in nutrition and physical activity.

Livingston County Tobacco Control Program (Livingston County, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use

Goal: The goals of this program are to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, decrease the social acceptability of tobacco use, and promote cessation of tobacco use.

Lowfat Lucy (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Lowfat Lucy program is to encourage children to drink low-fat white milk.

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.