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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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Marin County Safe Routes to Schools (Marin)

Local

Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Safe Routes to School program is to improve safety and encourage more children to safely walk and bicycle to school. In addition, the programs work toward reducing traffic congestion and improving health and the environment.

Marin Community Benefit Cooperative (Marin, CA)

Local

Filed under Local, Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Adults, Urban

Goal: MCBC's mission and work is about educating, assisting, and empowering individuals to live and work more harmoniously with nature and their community to avoid further ruin of the planet's finite life-sustaining capacity. A principal objective of its mission is to end waste as we know it today.

Goodwill Industries Transitional Jobs Program (San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin)

Local

Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help individuals make a successful transition to employment.

Summer Bridge (Marin)

Local

Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The program's goal is to help four- and five-year old children become better prepared for kindergarten.

Homeward Bound of Marin (HBOM) (Marin, CA)

Local

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Rural

Goal: Homeward Bound of Marin's mission is to address and solve the homelessness problem in Marin County.

Jefferson County Juvenile Gun Court (Jefferson County, AL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children

Goal: The program’s goals are to provide early intervention and greater accountability for juveniles charged with weapons offenses, help juveniles recognize and use nonviolent means to promote their safety and preserve their self-esteem, and effectively deliver the message that gun violence hurts victims, families, and communities.

Mailed Psychoeducational Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Screening (England)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among older adults.

Impact: Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher colorectal cancer screening attendance, as well as having more positive attitudes about screening and placing a higher priority on screening.

Red Rock Ridge and Val­ley Trail Sys­tem (Jefferson County, AL)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Adults, Families

Goal: The Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System will be a complete network of bike lanes, sidewalks, and trails connecting communities across Jefferson County.

Impact: The master plan for over 200 miles of shared-use greenways and trails and over 600 miles of street-based bicycle and pedestrian pathways will improve alternative transportation and recreational opportunities.

Primary Project

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children

Goal: The goals of this program are:
- Detect school adjustment difficulties
- Prevent social and emotional problems
- Enhance learning skills

Impact: One study demonstrated that participants made significant improvements in task orientation, specifically in working more independently and completing tasks faster. In behavior control, program students showed increased coping skills and lower levels of aggressiveness and produced fewer disruptions. In assertiveness, students had improved participation in activities, were better at expressing ideas, and showed increased leadership and decreased shyness. Improvements in peer sociability included increases in the quality of peer relationships and improved social skills. Several other evaluations of the Primary Project present evidence of improved school adjustment and decreases in problem behaviors for participants.

Fresh Stop Project (Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is for communities to enjoy and have access to affordable fresh food year-round.

Impact: Fresh Stops has improved access to wholesome, local foods for urban residents. In addition, Fresh Stops has engaged community members in the food justice movement and has promoted the adoption of healthy lifestyle changes.

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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