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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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Michigan Family Independence Agency (Kent County, MI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to move employable TANF recipients into the workforce and to provide job retention support.

Milwaukee Extreme Heat Plan (Milwaukee, WI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mortality Data, Children, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality in Milwaukee.

More than a Meal: Meals on Wheels America

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Older Adults

Goal: Meals on Wheels has been guided by a single goal since the first known U.S. delivery by a small group of Philadelphia citizens in 1954 – to support our senior neighbors to extend their independence and health as they age.

Neighborhood Health Clinic (Collier County, FL)

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

Goal: The goal of the Neighborhood Health Clinic is to provide medical care to low-income, uninsured, working adults.

Nevada Youth Alliance: Outreach Worker Program (Clark, Nevada)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Teens, Urban

Goal: The purpose of the program is to keep youth out of crime and to provide them with opportunities for a more fulfilling life.

Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project: Walk Oakland! (Oakland, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Public Safety, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: To prevent pedestrian deaths and injuries in Oakland, California.

Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (Oklahoma)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Families

Goal: The OMI is a multi-sector effort to reduce the state's divorce rate, strengthen families, and reduce dependency on government support.

Oral Health Equity Project (Boston, MA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Older Adults

Goal: The mission of the Oral Health Equity Project (OHEP) is to increase access to preventative services and dental care for economically disadvantaged elders living in Boston's public housing. The specific goal of the three-year project is to provide oral health screening to 1000 low-income elders.

Parent to Parent Program (Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Children, Families

Goal: The program's mission is to empower families of children with special needs to understand and access the systems that serve them.

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.

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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