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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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Trying Alternative Cafeteria Options in Schools (TACOS) (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the TACOS program was to use an environmental intervention to increase the availability and consumption of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.

Impact: The TACOS program successfully increased both the availability and sale of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.

Washington DC One-Stop (Washington, DC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help move people from public assistance to employment.

Washington State Translation Program (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Government Assistance, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to ensure that Washington's Social and Health Services are available and accessible to all Washington residents.

Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) (New Jersey)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health, Older Adults

Goal: The WISE Program is a wellness and prevention program targeting older adults, which is designed to help them celebrate healthy aging, make healthy lifestyle choices and avoid substance abuse.

Westside Infant-Family Network (Los Angeles County)

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

Goal: Westside Infant-Family Network’s mission is to ensure that families with prenatal through three-year-olds receive the mental health care and community resources they need to strengthen their families and achieve healthy parent-child relationships.

Youth Suicide Public Service Announcement (PSA) (Suburban Chicago)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: Community Memorial Foundation's goal was two-fold: to decrease stigma surrounding youth depression and suicide and increase teen utilization of the Crisis Text Line.

Impact: An awareness campaign that incorporates age- and culturally-appropriate actors through various media can successfully increase teen and adolescent usage of a crisis text hotline.

Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore is to influence the final version of Baltimore’s new zoning code by informing stakeholders and decision-makers about the new zoning code’s potential to create healthy communities and decrease health disparities, with an emphasis on preventing obesity and crime.

Impact: Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore is an HIA of the Baltimore zoning code rewrite in order to maximize the potential to create healthier communities. Since publication, Baltimore has revised its zoning code to incorporate dispersal standards and other strategies related to placement of alcohol outlets.

A Matter of Balance

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

Goal: The Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader (MOB/VLL) program is designed to reduce the fear of falling, stop the fear of falling cycle, and improve the activity levels among community-dwelling older adults. The goal of the program is to use volunteer lay leaders as facilitators, in order to make the program affordable to offer in the community setting.

Impact: When following up one year after the program, participants reported significant gains in fall management and there was a trend to increased exercise level as well. In addition, participants sustained a reduction in monthly falls.

A Population Health Approach to Clinical Social Work with Complex Patients in Primary Care (Portland, Maine)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions

Goal: Patients with the highest medical and social vulnerability require a population-specific social work intervention in primary care to achieve positive medical outcomes and to decrease inefficient use of services, especially inpatient admissions and ED visits.

Impact: The study exhibits promise in decreasing inpatient visits and cost. The evidence also supports population-specific social work interventions integrated in primary care.

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.