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.

Submit a Promising Practice

Habitat for Humanity Kansas City ReStore (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban

Goal: ReStore Kansas City was created to be an entrepreneurial, fundraising arm for Habitat for Humanity Kansas City through sales of donated new and used building materials, furniture and appliances. By salvaging useable materials from people who no longer need them, ReStore is saving space in landfills, giving the public affordable materials, and helping to further the mission of affordable housing in the Kansas City area.

Impact: Two stores raised more than $5 million and approximately 60,000,000 lbs. of material were diverted from going into the local landfill.

Kansas City Children’s Asthma Management Program (KC CAMP) (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of KC CAMP is to improve asthma care through provider and patient education.

Mobile Community CareLink (CCL) (Kansas City, MO)

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

Goal: The goal of Mobile CCL is to foster a higher level of client engagement and motivation in the treatment/recovery process.

Impact: As a web-based client portal to care management, Mobile CCL is enabling the integration of behavioral health treatment with primary care.

Sustainable Skylines Kansas City (Kansas City)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Sustainable Skylines Initiative (SSI) is to achieve measurable emissions reductions and promote sustainability in urban environments within three years of implementation.

Communities Supporting Breastfeeding (Kansas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Families

Goal: The purpose of the Community Supporting Breastfeeding (CSB) designation program is to create a culture of breastfeeding support in communities, ultimately increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration rates and the health and well-being of families.

The CSB program’s immediate goals are to increase positive perceptions toward breastfeeding, increase the availability of breastfeeding resources, and reduce barriers experienced in the community by women of child-bearing age. The long-term goal of the project is to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates through a sustainable model of cross-sector support for breastfeeding.

The project also effectively addresses the racial and socioeconomic disparities in breastfeeding rates. The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition’s collective impact approach supports efforts of those serving African-American and lower income women. As a result of this project, these organizations receive the support they need to increase their impact when they become aligned with other, larger organizations working toward similar goals, creating a synergy across groups working on breastfeeding support.

Impact: Based on results from our evaluation, along with improved exclusive breastfeeding rates in the majority of the communities that could be associated with the CSB criteria, we believe the CSB program is impactful.

Motivational Enhancement (ME) First/ME After (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of ME First/ME After is to address the gap in treatment resources for individuals waiting to be admitted to treatment for substance abuse or who are reintegrating back into the community after treatment by supporting motivation for change, increasing wellness and decreasing recidivism.

Impact: Over 200 clients participated in the ME First program in 2013. Approximately 80% of these clients completed the program and entered treatment for substance abuse with increased motivation for change.

Rock Island Railroad Depot (Liberal, KS)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Women, Men, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of the renovation of the Rock Island Railroad Depot was to revitalize the city of Liberal, Kansas.

B&O Railroad Station (Oakland, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of the restoration of the B&O Railroad Station was to preserve the historic landmark and revitalize the town of Oakland, Maryland.

Hospital Diversion Initiative (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Hospital Diversion Initiative is to connect individuals who chronically utilize the inpatient and emergency rooms with outpatient care.

Impact: After three months in the program, participants showed a 66% reduction in ER visits, 68% reduction in inpatient hospital stays, a 72% decrease in homelessness, an 18% reduction in unemployment, and a 66% decrease in past 30 day arrests. More than 350 individuals have been served so far.

New York City's Phase Out of Artificial Trans Fat (New York)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Urban

Goal: On December 5, 2006, the NYC Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.