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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Active Start (Los Angeles, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of this project is to increase physical activity among sedentary older adults over three years. The project recruits older adults who are at risk and encourages them to incorporate physical activity into their lives.

Addiction Center (Orlando, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families

Goal: Addiction Center's goal is to find individuals and loved ones who are impacted by substance abuse and provide them with the most up-to-date information on addictions, substances, and recovery options.

Adopt a Native Elder Program (Arizona and Utah)

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

Goal: The Adopt a Native Elder program was established to build bridges between cultures and between individuals through the native tradition of adoption.

Adventures in Learning (Greater Kansas City area)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: Shepherd's Center Central is a local leader in the regional effort to ensure that all people can age successfully with dignity, security, and respect.

Impact: In 2016, Adventures in Learning experienced attendance of 80 members per week and offered a total of 520 classes during the four 10-week sessions available.

Assessment and Referral (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Assessment and Referral is to help individuals struggling with a substance use disorder evaluate their needs and strengths and begin to make healthy choices that improve the overall quality of their lives.

Impact: First Call provided over 1,700 assessments in 2013, and more than half of clients showed improvements in their Addiction Severity Index (ASI) scores or a decrease in substance use.

Backyard Gardens (West Oakland, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Backyard Garden Program builds food self-sufficiency by empowering low-income households to grow fresh produce where they live.

Be a Blue Buddy (Jacksonville, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The mission of the Be a Blue Buddy campaign is to educate the community about colorectal cancer, to raise awareness about the importance of screening and early detection, to give hope to newly diagnosed patients, and to save lives.

Impact: Be a Blue Buddy has helped raise awareness and create a dialogue for colorectal cancer. Grace De La Rosa began Be a Blue Buddy in 2014 and has reached several thousand people in her community and nationwide.

Breathe Better Campaign (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Adults, Women, Older Adults

Goal: To increase awareness, understanding, diagnosis and treatment options for people with COPD.

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.

CareMore: Nonemergency Medical Transport

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Older Adults

Goal: To provide transportation and improve patient satisfaction for nonemergency medical services.

Impact: CareMore's NEMT was so successful in the first 3 months, the programs were expanded in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Virginia.

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.