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 Local, Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: The goal of Sugar Smart for Life is to reduce the rate of diabetes in our community by empowering those with prediabetes to make lifestyle changes that may prevent or delay onset of the disease.
Impact: These findings suggest that this technology-based intervention is well-received by patients at high-risk for developing diabetes in terms of satisfaction, delivering appropriate health education, and supporting and encouraging positive health behavior changes.
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.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Urban
Goal: The mission statement of Get Fresh Detroit is to increase access to fresh and healthy foods in Detroit by transforming the retail of fresh and healthy foods into viable and sustainable business opportunities for store owners in Detroit.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: The objectives of the program were to educate students, parents, and school staff about asthma management and to control exposure to factors that trigger asthma attacks.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The mission of 826 National is to help children ages 6-18 develop their writing skills, and to help teachers get their students excited about writing. The mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer
Goal: The mission of Gilda's Club is to provide places where men, women, and children with cancer and their families and friends join with others to build social and emotional support as a supplement to medical care.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: The Zero Suicide Initiative is a comprehensive model of suicide prevention that challenges health and behavioral health care systems to strive for zero suicides among those in their care.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent further criminal activity and incarceration among juvenile delinquents.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the study was to prevent STDs in high-risk minority women through three culture-specific small group education and counseling sessions, delivered over time.
Impact: Reinfection rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea were significantly lower at each follow-up among participants in the small-group counseling sessions than in the control group. Integration of behavior-change theory with extensive qualitative data collected in target communities enabled the study to create culturally meaningful strategies to promote the recognition of risk and to stimulate motivation to effect personal change.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: To improve drinking water consumption among adolescents.
Impact: This study shows that provision of filtered, chilled drinking water in school cafeterias coupled with promotion and education is associated with increased consumption of drinking water at school.