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, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goals of this program are to improve parenting skills and children’s behaviors and decrease conduct disorders; to improve children’s social competencies; and to improve family attachment, harmony, communication, and organization.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the program is to promote health and prevent injury among seniors through a series of community-based strength training classes.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: Strong4Life is a statewide movement to inspire kids and families to develop lifelong healthy habits, one positive step at a time.
Filed under 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.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer
Goal: The goal of this campaign was to educate park visitors about the need to protect themselves from the damaging rays of the sun and how best to prevent skin cancer.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To bring a culture of physical activity to the Latino and African-American communities in Chicago in order to decrease health problems related to inactivity.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity
Goal: To educate consumers how to shop for health and to make healthy grocery shopping easy and enjoyable. To enable health professionals to educate their patients on shopping for health.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of the SHAKE program is to use elementary school-based programming to promote childhood health and fitness.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Goal: The goal of this project is to identify environmentally preferable building materials and products, to specify them in HOK's own projects, and to guide others in the profession in doing the same.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban
Goal: The primary goal of the ‘Switch-Play’ promising practice was to develop and test three approaches towards the achievement of healthy weight maintenance among 10-year-old children: (1) through reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors (e.g. TV viewing, playing electronic games and recreational computer use); (2) through increasing skills and enjoyment of physical activity; or (3) through a combination of these two strategies.
Impact: Children participating in the behavioral modification and motor skills development components of Switch-Play had improved BMI.