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.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Through regional media campaigns BayROC promotes personal action and behavior change to reduce waste.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Urban
The goal of this program is to educate syringe users about access to clean syringes and proper medical waste disposal and to provide sharps containers and disposal sites to syringe users.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children
The goal of ABCD is to improve access to early pediatric preventative dental care for Medicaid-covered children.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Adults
The program's mission is to improve the quality of early learning programs by focusing on increasing the quality, effectiveness, and retention of early educators.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Women
The Illinois WISEWOMAN program (IWP) aims to lower heart disease and other chronic disease risk factors through screening and lifestyle classes for women in high-risk populations in service counties throughout Illinois.
The Illinois WISEWOMAN Program addresses the disproportionate risk of cardiovascular disease among disadvantaged, low-income women. Participation in the program has been shown to improve dietary, physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Nutrition & Healthy Eating, Rural
CVAN is the Kansas conduit for tons of healthy produce from the Catholic Charities Mary Martha Organization--the steward of excess highly perishable high quality foods from a huge Walmart Distribution Center in Oklahoma. As food supplies allow, CVAN distributes to the 100 square mile school district and to share with a networked family of pantries and volunteer organizations in five Kansas counties and South Coffeyville, OK. As needed, CVAN has recruited distribution volunteers in covering communities within this economically depressed region. The network family was built upon the CVAN’s supply of fresh produce, but is now blessing this area with distribution of CARES foods during the COVID crisis. Its volunteers are food warriors--winning in the fight against rural hunger.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Adults
By partnering with key community stakeholders, the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center is committed to providing accessible, affordable, quality mental health services to residents of Charleston and Dorchester counties.
Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center Partnerships has resulted in increased hospital and emergency services diversion, increased children tenure in communities and schools, and provided essential mental health services to improve the overall quality of life for residents of the community.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Teens
The goals of the MCM are to provide a comprehensive and centralized concussion care program to 1) increase concussion awareness and identification through education and training; 2) facilitate the return to play decision with effective medical treatment, which includes baseline neurocognitive testing; and 3) implement a standardized concussion care protocol and concussion injury surveillance system to assist in the prevention of concussions, improve player safety, and limit school liability.
From the pilot evaluation of the model it was determined that the MCM model or a similarly designed one is effective in increasing the number of concussions identified, reported, and also treated at a clinic.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity
To reverse the rising tide of obesity and chronic disease among North Carolinians by helping them to eat smart, move more and achieve a healthy weight.
ESMMWL teaches healthy lifestyle behaviors surround diet and exercise so that participants may incorporate them into their lives in a sustained manner and sustain weight loss.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance
The goal of Health in All Policies is to ensure that health effects are routinely taken into consideration when developing policy.
Health in All Policies initiatives have helped create healthier communities through implementing policies with health consequences in mind. For many counties, this includes creating cross-agency teams and workgroups to address problems in their community.