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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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Elders Living at Home Program (ELAHP) (Boston, MA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Older Adults

Goal: The mission of the Elders Living At Home Program is to support elders in making the transition out of homeless, to provide supportive services that build on the individual abilities of elders and to help them overcome the barriers to permanent housing.

Michigan Diabetes Outreach Network (MDON) (Michigan)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes

Goal: The goal of the network is to improve care and health outcomes for patients with diabetes.

Modelo de Intervencion Psicomedica (Puerto Rico)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of Modelo de Intervencion Psicomedica is to reduce high-risk behaviors that can lead to infection and transmission of HIV among intravenous drug users.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition (Birmingham, AL)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce disparities in breast and cervical cancer screening and outcomes between African American and white women through the use of community advisors.

Washington State Diabetes Collaboratives (WSDC) (Washington)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve health outcomes for people with diabetes in Washington.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Natural Resources Defense Council (Santa Monica, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Robert Redford Building is to provide an example of sustainable and efficient design.

Flex Your Power Case Study: San Bernardino County (San Bernardino County)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: San Bernardino County’s goal in 2001 was to reduce its energy use by 10 percent.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Swinerton, Inc. (San Francisco)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of this project was to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs, and provide a better work atmosphere for employees.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Transwestern Commercial Services (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goals of Transwestern's energy audits are to save energy and money and to contribute to saving the environment and assuring reliable energy in the local communities in which it operates.

Hawaii Child Asthma Research to Elevate Standards (Hawaii CARES) (Honolulu, HI)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

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

Goal: The goal of Hawaii CARES is to bring the way asthma is treated in the state up to compliance with national guidelines.

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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