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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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Young at Heart Project (California)

Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation / Music, Older Adults

Goal: The Young at Heart Project aims to provide the therapeutic benefits of music and entertainment for senior citizens in convalescent and residential care facilities throughout Central and Northern California.

AccessHealth Spartanburg (Spartanburg County, SC)

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

Goal: AccessHealth Spartanburg's mission is to improve access to healthcare for the uninsured of Spartanburg County, SC.

Impact: AHS reduced inappropriate emergency room use and inpatient caseloads while increasing access to healthcare services for its clients in Spartanburg County. Furthermore, the organization reported a $17 to $1 ROI.

Adopt a Native Elder Program (Arizona and Utah)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The Adopt a Native Elder program was established to build bridges between cultures and between individuals through the native tradition of adoption.

Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown program is to raise awareness and sales of locally grown farm products.

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (Upton, MA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens

Goal: The school's philosophy is "to provide the individual student with the academic and vocational/technical skills essential to achieve success in a productive career as well as to provide the global community with a highly qualified and prepared workforce."

Breathe Better Air at School (South Carolina)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air, Children, Teens, Adults

Goal: The Breathe Better Air at School Program aims to educate parents, staff, bus drivers, and faculty about the importance of not idling vehicles on campus.

BuckleUpBoston! Child Passenger Safety Program (Boston, MA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families

Goal: The goal of BUB is to increase awareness about CPS and usage rates of seats amongst low-income families in the city of Boston.

Casual Carpool (San Francisco & Alameda Co, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of Casual Carpool is to match commuters in order to reduce traffic congestion and to save money for both drivers and passengers by avoiding public transit fees and bridge tolls.

Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (Tucson, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the negative impact of alcohol abuse on campus life by correcting students' perceptions about alcohol use and by making the campus less conducive to drinking.

Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center Partnerships (South Carolina)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Adults

Goal: 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.

Impact: 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.

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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