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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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Start Strong (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: To create and evaluate new ways to prevent teen dating violence and abuse.

Taking the HyRoad (Alameda and Contra Costa County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The goal of Taking the HyRoad is to improve fuel economy and reduce the emissions from public transit buses through the use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Taller Tech (Santa Ana, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help high-risk youth develop marketable skills and to instill in students the values of dignity, responsibility and community.

TEEN LINE (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: The organization’s goal is to provide a safe space where a teenager can talk to another teenager who will listen, understand and not judge them.

Teen Talk (California and Texas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate adolescents about teen pregnancy, abstinence, and contraceptive.

The Achieve Program (Cleveland, OH)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase entry-level employee retention, promote skill building for employee success, and reduce employee absenteeism and turnover.

The Evergreen Jogging Path (Boyle Heights, CA)

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

Goal: To create a place for the citizens of Boyle Heights, CA to exercise which is safe and easy to access and thus promotes regular physical activity.

The Greene Community Health Foundation (Greene County, OH)

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

Goal: The mission of the Greene Community Health Foundation is to 1. help assist underserved GCCHD clients with funding for medical needs, 2. find avenues of funding for clients, 3. develop partnerships with providers for reduced charges for clients, 4. develop community partnerships to strengthen programs and projects at GCCHD, and 5. develop state and national partnerships to strengthen the programs and projects at GCCHD.

Transitional Housing Placement Plus (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Teens

Goal: The goal of THP-Plus is to provide affordable housing and supportive services to youth formerly in the foster care and juvenile probation systems.

Trooper Island (Kentucky)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children

Goal: The goal of Trooper Island Camp is to support the development of children's self image, including physical, mental, and spiritual growth.

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.
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