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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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New Hope Project (Wisconsin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults

Goal: New Hope provided full-time workers with several benefits: an earnings supplement to raise their income above poverty, low-cost health insurance, and subsidized child care. For those unable to find full-time work, the program offered help in finding a job and referral to a wage-paying community service job when necessary.

New York Refugee and Immigrant Job Centers (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide assistance to clients whose primary language is not English.

Nutrition Education for Families with Financial Problems (The Netherlands)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families

Goal: To increase dietary variety, decrease the intake of saturated fat and increase the intake of vegetables during the main meal among families with financial problems.

Office of Multi-Cultural Services (Hennepin County, MN)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Government Assistance, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services for the residents of Hennepin County.

Oklahoma Billboard Control and Removal Program (Oklahoma)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Oklahoma Billboard Control and Removal Program is to comply with the requirements of the Oklahoma Highway Beautification Act by removing non-permitted billboards and regulating the installation of new billboards.

One City One Book: San Francisco Reads (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of One City One Book: San Francisco Reads is to encourage enjoyment of reading, literacy, and community by having San Franciscans read and discuss the same book at the same time.

Open Airways for Schools (OAS) (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Open Airways for Schools intervention is to improve asthma control among children in Latino communities in Chicago.

Open Meadow Alternative School (Portland, OR)

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

Goal: The goals of the Open Meadow program are 1) to re-engage high risk youth so they will complete their education; and 2) to connect high risk youth to their community in a positive way.

Operation Walking Shield

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Walking Shield's mission is to improve the quality of life and create positive futures for American Indians who live on our nation's reservations by managing and coordinating programs that provide shelter, healthcare, food and clothing, educational assistance, community development assistance, and humanitarian support.

Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (Oregon)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce tobacco use in Oregon.

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.