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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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Building Effective Programs for Summer Learning (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the paper is to introduce effective practices for building a summer learning program that reaches the neediest kids, gets kids learning, and keeps going strong.

Bullying Prevention Program (South Carolina)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce bullying in schools.

Burlington Legacy Project (Burlington, VT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of this program is to create a strategy for a sustainable Burlington.

Buy Local Berkeley (Berkeley)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of Buy Local Berkeley is to inspire community members to shift their spending to Berkeley owned and operated businesses.

Buying Nutritional Food on a Limited Budget (Wisconsin)

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

Goal: This program seeks to encourage low-income elderly, families, and youth to learn about nutrition through research-based education programs. It offers advice on how to eat healthy foods on a limited budget.

California Green Jobs Corps (Sacramento)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Teens

Goal: The goal of the California Green Corps is to place 1,000 at-risk young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 into "green" jobs in order to stimulate the economy and provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth while improving and protecting the environment.

California Smoker’s Hotline (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults, Families

Goal: The Hotline’s goal is to help individuals and families quite smoking.

California Votes Initiative (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The Initiative's goal was to increase voter participation rates among infrequent voters, particularly in low-income and ethnic communities.

California's Asthma Control Programs (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Respiratory Diseases

Goal: Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.

CAMINOS (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of CAMINOS is to help low-income, Latina immigrants create opportunities for self and economic improvement by teaching them how to use technology.

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.