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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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The Compost Club (Sonoma)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: To promote social change and environmental responsibility, reduce carbon output and enable local schools and centers to develop and maintain effective composting and vermiculture systems.

The Developmentally Supportive Care: Newborn Individualized Developmental Care & Assessment Program (Boston, MA)

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

Goal: The goal of NIDCAP is to maximize physical, mental, and emotional growth, health, and other positive outcomes for infants in NICUs.

The EPA SunWise Program (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Weather & Climate, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote sun-safe behavior in children.

The Food Trust (USA)

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

Goal: The Food Trust's mission is to ensure that everyone have access to affordable, nutritious food by providing nutrition education and greater availability of affordable, healthy food.

The Fortune Society (New York City)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Adults, Urban

Goal: The mission of The Fortune Society is to support successful reentry form prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.

The Green Cart Initiative (New York City, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Green Cart Initiative is to improve healthy food options for residents of New York.

The Heart Truth (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Women

Goal: The Heart Truth aims to inform women about heart disease, particularly women aged 40 to 60 and women of color, who are at higher risk of heart disease.

The Holistic Management Project (Washington)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources

Goal: The mission of the Holistic Management Project was to develop capacity in a diverse group of individuals and to improve the social, ecological, and economic status of the state of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The HOV System: Guide to High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (Harris County, Texas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of METRO's HOV lane network is to reduce traffic congestion and promote ridesharing and the use of public transportation.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Austin, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes.

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.