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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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Urban Women Against Substance Abuse (Hartford, CT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Women

Goal: The goal of UWASA is to teach girls to build their cultural and gender identity, discourage alcohol and drug use, promote HIV awareness, and explore possible career options.

Utah Commission on Marriage (Utah)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Families

Goal: The Utah Commission on Marriage is charged with making recommendations about how to promote, strengthen and increase awareness of the importance of marriage in Utah.

Utah Skin and Colon Cancer Media Campaigns (Utah)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of these media campaigns was to increase awareness of cancer prevention, protection, and early detection.

Utah's Emergency Assistance Program (Utah)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Government Assistance

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote stability by preventing families and individuals from being evicted.

Vaccinate Before You Graduate (Rhode Island)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens

Goal: The goal of Vaccinate Before You Graduate is to ensure that all high school students have a chance to be fully immunized before they graduate.

Vamos a Nadar (Let's Go Swimming) (Sonoma)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To promote water safety in the Latino community.

Vandenberg AFB QRP Exceeds 90% Diversion Rate (Santa Barbara County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce waste and encourage recycling at Vandenberg AFB.

Vera Casey Teen Parenting Program (Berkeley)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health

Goal: The goal of the Vera Casey Teen Parenting Program is to promote healthy teen parents and children by providing and coordinating comprehensive services supporting a healthy pregnancy, healthy children, and the well-being of the whole family.

Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goals of the curriculum are to 1) illustrate that violence is preventable, 2) teach students that anger is a normal part of life and that anger can be expressed and channeled in healthy, constructive ways, 3) help students understand that controlling anger and violence is part of maturing, 4) identify positive ways for students to express their anger, and 5) help them think about and use alternatives to violence in conflict situations.

Walk Across Texas! (Texas)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Families

Goal: To help Texans establish the habit of regular physical activity as a way to reduce excess body weight.

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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