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 Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
The goal of these projects was to find ways to maximize energy conservation and efficiency through measures with a quick payback period.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
OCWD's goals in 2001 were to reduce energy load, save money and preserve/extend equipment life. Its projects targeted power use in buildings' electrical/lighting systems; chemical and energy management issues concerning the plant treatment process and HVAC systems; and energy use by employees and ultimately customers.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban
Housing for Health program goals are to improve patients’ health, reduce costs to the public health system, and demonstrate DHS’s commitment to addressing homelessness within Los Angeles County.
The average public service utilization cost per participant for the year prior to housing totaled $38,146; in the year after receiving housing, it totaled $15,358. When taking into account PSH costs, RAND observed a 20-percent net cost savings, suggesting a potential cost benefit of the program.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
The mission of this program is to provide a community-based, and community supported, economically viable and consumer-oriented, quality transportation service for seniors.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Urban
The goal is to help prepare communities for earthquakes, fires, floods, terrorism, and other natural and man-made disasters.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
The goals of this program are to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, decrease the social acceptability of tobacco use, and promote cessation of tobacco use.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Teens
To prevent death and injury from car crashes among teens by reducing driving speed and driver distractions.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Teens, Urban
The purpose of the program is to keep youth out of crime and to provide them with opportunities for a more fulfilling life.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
The goal of this study is to examine NEMT’s return on investment and expand research on its financial benefit.
The findings suggest that NEMT more than pays for itself as part of a care management strategy for people with chronic diseases, resulting in a total positive return on investment of over $40 million per month ($480 million annually) per 30,000 Medicaid beneficiaries.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Children, Families
The program's mission is to empower families of children with special needs to understand and access the systems that serve them.