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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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MyTeachingPartner-Secondary - Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation (Charlottesville, VA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education, Adults

Goal: MyTeachingPartner, or MTP, is a system of professional-development supports developed through the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. MTP improves teacher-student interactions, which in turn, increases student learning and development.

PACE+: Counseling Adolescents for Exercise and Nutrition (California)

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

Goal: The goal of PACE+ for adolescents is to: decrease total dietary fat consumption; increase fruits & vegetable consumption; increase participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity; decrease sedentary habits among adolescents aged 11-15.

Pool Cool (MA, HI)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Children, Families

Goal: The main objective of Pool Cool is to increase awareness, motivation, and sun protection practices among children ages 5-10 who take swimming lessons.

Impact: The Pool Cool program had significant positive effects on children's use of sunscreen and overall sun-protection habits at swimming pools.

School Wellness Council Project (New York City )

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The mission of the New York City Department of Education wellness policy is to reduce sedentary lifestyle and to promote nutritious eating among children.

Senior Corps (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to match seniors with volunteer opportunities.

The Buffalo Healthy Communities Initiative (Buffalo, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation

Goal: The goal of this project is to make the streets more pedestrian friendly and supportive of active living.

The Connect Project (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults

Goal: The Connect Project is a community-based youth suicide prevention program that works to develop a shared knowledge and understanding of suicide prevention within a community.

The Cooks Academy at Old Cockrill (Nashville, TN)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Women, Urban

Goal: The program offers an integrated food experience to students and expectant mothers attending an alternative high school.

Tomando Control de su Salud (Spanish Chronic Disease Self-Management Program) (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Tomando Control de su Salud is a group workshop that educates Latino individuals with chronic conditions on techniques to help them manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives.

Utah Skin and Colon Cancer Media Campaigns (Utah)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of these media campaigns was to increase awareness of cancer prevention, protection, and early detection.

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.