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 Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Men
Goal: To reduce the frequency of unprotected vaginal and anal sexual intercourse among sexually active men in drug treatment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions
Goal: The goal of this study is to determine how many Community Health Workers (CHW) would be needed to reduce emergency department (ED) visits and associated hospitalizations among their assigned patients to be cost-neutral from a payer's perspective.
Impact: This study adds significant knowledge to the existing literature on CHW programs, and particularly provides critical information to payers that can be used for making decisions on appropriate payment models
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent violence among middle school students.
Impact: Rates of violence-related violations among 6th graders were 2.2 times lower in classrooms using RiPP than in non-participating classrooms. In-school suspension rates among 6th graders were also 5.0 times higher in the non-participating classrooms.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Children, Teens
Goal: The goals of the program are to increase students’ awareness of what constitutes healthy versus abusive dating relationships; to increase students’ awareness of dating abuse as well as its causes and consequences; to equip students with the skills and resources to help themselves or friends in abusive dating relationships; and to equip students with the skills to develop healthy dating relationships, including positive communication, anger management, and conflict resolution.
Impact: Safe Dates educates and equips youth to identify, address, and mitigate abusive and violent dating relationships.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Women
Goal: The goal of the Safer Sex Skills Building intervention is to decrease unsafe sexual behaviors through increasing condom use, safer sex negotiation skills, and HIV/STD awareness.
Impact: Safer Sex Skills Building decreases unsafe vaginal and anal sexual behaviors and instances.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The primary goal of the School Lunch Initiative is to transform the way Berkeley public school students eat lunch and to educate children about food, health, and the environment.
Impact: Three years after its conception, the program successfully eliminated nearly all processed foods from the school district dining halls and introduced fresh and organic foods to the daily menu. There was evidence that greater exposure to the School Lunch Initiative was significantly associated with higher nutrition knowledge scores among fourth graders and seventh graders. Furthermore, elementary school students from the schools with highly developed School Lunch Initiative components clearly expressed a higher preference for fruits and vegetables.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The objective of this study was to examine the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of the School-Based Asthma Therapy (SBAT) program compared with usual care.
Impact: School-Based Asthma Therapy resulted in 158 symptom-free days per month per 100 children and a cost-effectiveness of $10 per symptom-free day.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Adults, Women, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The objectives are to increase knowledge of SIDS risk reduction strategies, including sleep position, use of cribs (instead of adult beds and couches), and elimination of bedding.
Impact: Childcare provider behavior related to safe sleep practices can be improved from short, in-person targeted educational sessions.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The objectives are to increase knowledge of SIDS risk reduction strategies, including sleep position and roomsharing without bedsharing.
Impact: A 15-minute educational session with small groups of parents is effective in informing parents about the importance of safe sleep position and in changing parent behavior for at least the first 6 months of the infant's life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends permanent supportive housing with Housing First (Housing First programs) to promote health equity for people who are experiencing homelessness and have a disabling condition.
Evidence shows Housing First programs decrease homelessness, increase housing stability, and improve quality of life for homeless persons living with disabling conditions, including those with HIV infection. For clients living with HIV infection, these programs also improve clinical indicators and mental health and reduce mortality. Housing First programs also lead to reduced hospitalization and use of emergency departments for homeless persons with disabling conditions, including HIV infection.
The CPSTF finds the economic benefits exceed the intervention cost for Housing First Programs in the United States. Because homelessness is associated with lower income and is more common among racial and ethnic minority populations, Housing First Programs are likely to advance health equity.