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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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Healthy U (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Healthy U is to work with several community groups to provide healthy snacks as well as education on nutrition and fitness to students and their families at University Academy.

Impact: The percentage of screened students who were overweight fell from 45.9% in the 2011-2012 school year to 36.9% in the 2011-2012 school year. Over 75% of participants in both Teen Eats and Family Dinners demonstrated a positive behavior change.

KC Rakes (Kansas City, MO)

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.

Neighborhood Market DrillDown + (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote investments in underserved urban neighborhoods.

New Communities Program (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the New Communities Program is to strengthen communities from within through planning, organizing, and human development.

Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project: Walk Oakland! (Oakland, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Public Safety, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: To prevent pedestrian deaths and injuries in Oakland, California.

Pets for Life (Kansas City Metropolitan Area)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The purpose of Pets for Life, Inc. is to enhance the care and treatment of people in local hospitals, nursing homes, domestic violence shelters, mental health programs, youth treatment centers, corrections facilities, and hospices through the use of certified therapy teams of pets and volunteers.

Impact: The benefits of pet/volunteer visits to people in the community include increased emotional/sociological well being of these individuals and positive physiological changes.

Postponing Sexual Involvement/Human Sexuality Educational Series (Atlanta, GA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to delay sexual activity among adolescents.

Reconciliation Services Depression and Trauma Therapy Services (Kansas City/Jackson/Missouri)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Women, Men, Urban

Goal: The mission of Reconciliation Services is to cultivate a community seeking reconciliation to transform Troost from a dividing line into a gathering place, revealing the strength of all. Our mental health services are at the heart of how we strive to help clients see their own strength and work towards being reconciled to their own health and well-being.

Impact: Over the past three years, our therapy program participants reported a 71 percent decrease for depression and 79 percent decrease for PTSD.

SCORE Concussion Education and Baseline Testing Program (Greater Washington, DC)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families

Goal: The goal of the community education, training and baseline testing component of the SCORE Concussion Program is to improve community understanding of concussions and response post-injury.

Impact: In 2012, The SCORE Concussion Education and Baseline Testing Program provided baseline testing and student athlete education to 1,522 children, lead 32 parent and coach education sessions, and conducted workshop training in more than 30 schools.

SteppingStone Place (Phoenix. AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide supportive housing for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS and/or substance abuse problems.

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.