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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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Stepping Up to Algebra (Santa Clara)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The program is designed to teach students the skills and knowledge required to complete Algebra I by the end of the eighth grade.

Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts by building small grocery stores that provide alternatives to convenience stores or fast foods.

Impact: Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery improves access to healthy food and eases the burden for families living in food deserts.

Stroke Family Support Organizer (Nottinghamshire, UK)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the Stroke Family Support Organizer program is to provide stroke patients and caregivers with information about supportive services.

Strong Seniors (Reno, KS)

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

Goal: The goal of the program is to promote health and prevent injury among seniors through a series of community-based strength training classes.

Students Against Violence Everywhere (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of Students Against Violence Everywhere is to decrease violence in schools and communities by promoting meaningful student involvement, education and service opportunities.

Telephone Intervention for Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors (Birmingham, AL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults

Goal: The goal of this intervention is to provide family caregivers of stroke survivors with problem-solving skills and support to manage problems and cope with the stresses of care giving.

Training Caregivers of Stroke Victims (England)

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

Goal: The goal of the training program is to provide skills essential for the daily management of stroke survivors.

11th Street Family Health Services (Philadelphia, PA)

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

Goal: The goal of the 11th Street Family Health Services Center is to provide healthcare to underserved, low-income community members.

Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) and Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) (Illinois)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach is to help adolescents recover from alcohol and drug addiction.

Impact: Results from studies on this treatment program demonstrate that there can be superior engagement, retention, and short-term substance use outcomes for those in the A-CRA and ACC approaches compared to UCC. The ACC protocol can also result in significantly more patients linking to continuing 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.