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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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Flex Your Power Case Study: Inland Empire Utilities Agency (Inland Empire, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Urban

Goal: The goals of the projects were to:
- Provide uninterrupted service;
- Develop a strategy to minimize or eliminate future wastewater rate increases resulting from higher power supply costs;
- Build self-sufficiency and local control over longterm energy supplies;
- Help improve electric generation for the benefit of the IEUA service area (e.g., municipal power Joint Power arrangements with the cities); and
- Assist the region and California in meeting its energy needs.

Southwest Indiana Project AWARE (Vanderburgh County and Warrick County, Indiana)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Urban

Goal: The Goals of Project Aware include:

1) Increase capacity of adults to respond to behavioral health issues of adolescents
2) Increase the mental health literacy of youth-interacting adults
3) Link adolescents with behavioral health issues to mental, emotional, and behavioral health assistance and services
4) Increase the number of collaborative partnerships with youth- serving community agencies/programs
5) Conduct outreach and engagement strategies with adolescents and their families/caregivers to increase awareness of and promote positive behavioral health

Impact: Collaboration and partnerships can help drive awareness of mental health issues and training adolescents in Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) can help spread awareness of mental health resources and referrals to professionals.

The Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee, Inc. (SMTCCAC) (Maryland)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The mission of this organization is to provide services for eligible citizens that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, promote upward mobility, and enrich the quality of life.

Community Planning Program (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Community Planning Program is to provide underserved communities with the tools and support they need to be able to shape equitable, safe, and vibrant neighborhoods throughout San Francisco, CA.

Cross-Sector Collaboration for Vulnerable Populations Reduces Utilization and Strengthens Community Partnerships

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The objective of this article is to describe Project Restoration's approach to cross-sector collaboration with a shared population of high utilizing community members, describe the process and outcomes of the collaboration, provide strategies to mitigate challenges that arise during collaboration and offer insights to inform similar initiatives in communities nationwide.

Impact: Hospitals across the region are assessing ways to establish a centralized infrastructure to collaboratively address the complexities of individual cases, as well as a regional council to explore process improvements to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Visalia (Visalia, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of these projects is to conserve energy and to reduce energy costs.

Medicaid Travel of Pediatric Dental Teams (Alaska)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program was to reduce barriers to dental care and increase the use of dental care among underserved children living in remote locations in Alaska.

Native American Women's Wellness Program (Washington)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage screening and early detection of cancer among American Indian women.

Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA) (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of Parenting the Second Time Around (PASTA) is to train facilitators to lead workshops on childcare for grandparent/caregiver relatives.

Partners Clinic (St Lucie County, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve access to health care for uninsured and underinsured adults.

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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