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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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Indiana's Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign (Indiana)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Government Assistance, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage eligible families to utilize the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Indianapolis Restorative Justice Project (Indianapolis, IN)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to divert young first-time offenders from court into a restorative justice process in which the offender and victim negotiate a satisfactory solution.

Individual Development Accounts in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tulsa, OK)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Families

Goal: The goal of this program was to demonstrate the effectiveness of individual development accounts.

Individuals and Communities Acting Now to (I CAN) Prevent Diabetes (Minnesota)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults

Goal: To provide the tools to prevent or delay adult type 2 diabetes.

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health

Goal: The goal of the IAQ TfS program is to provide schools with easy ways to improve air quality in classrooms.

Influenza Vaccination Program (Henderson County, NC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: In 2002, the health department changed the clinic site and operation to accomplish the following three goals: 1) to conduct a mass vaccination involving other community agencies, businesses and health providers; 2) to distribute influenza vaccination in the community for greater equity and accountability; and 3) to introduce the citizens to the concept and process of a mass vaccination drill.

Inner-City Asthma Intervention (San Antonio, TX)

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

Goal: Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.

Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts About Gynecologic Cancer (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women

Goal: The goal of the Inside Knowledge campaign is to increase knowledge and awareness about the signs and symptoms of the five major gynecologic cancers.

Integrating Community Service with Higher Education Student Government Programming (Sonoma County, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Teens

Goal: The goal is to integrate community service programs at colleges and universities into the programming objectives of student government organizations in order to achieve greater student involvement and more stable funding.

Integration of Family Planning Services at Denver Metro Health Clinic (Denver, CO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Women

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide reproductive health care services to women and men in the Denver STD clinic.

Impact: Enrollment in family planning services increased significantly. Among women returning within 12 months, pregnancies were lower among enrolled versus non-enrolled women. Total additional cost was $29.95/visit, and 40.1 minutes of additional staff time.

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.