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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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Food Smart Program (Stratford, CT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Food Safety

Goal: The program goals are to improve food-handling practices and improve communication between food service employees and inspection staff by providing language and culturally appropriate food safety training.

Four Seasons Hotel Composting Partnership (Philadelphia, PA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of the Four Seasons Hotel Composting Partnership is to reduce the hotel's waste by recycling kitchen scraps with a local composter.

Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center (Tuscon, AZ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Children

Goal: It is the mission of the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center to create a pathway of economic success for disadvantaged youth through a career service delivery system. The program strives to teach marketable skills in a safe and supportive setting, and to find meaningful employment for students when they leave the program.

Free Income Tax Assistance Program (Tulsa, OK)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Income

Goal: The goal of CAP's program is to decrease poverty and to expand economic development in Tulsa by increasing the participation rate and use of the EITC by eligible low- and moderate-income families.

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.

Friends for Life (Delaware, OH)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality

Goal: The purpose is to inform the public of the agency mission, garner support for services and funding and to create volunteer and donation opportunities.

Full Circle Diabetes Program (Minneapolis)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Full Circle Diabetes Program aims to provide a holistic approach to diabetes self-management.

Fulmer SPICES: An Overall Assessment Tool for Older Adults (New York, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this tool is to improve patient care for older adults by helping nurses to evaluate common conditions.

G-House: Housing for Transition-Aged Youth 18-24 (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To assist homeless transition-aged youth in building the skills necessary to secure and flourish in a stable and independent living situation.

Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) (Phoenix, AZ)

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

Goal: The objectives of the G.R.E.A.T program are to reduce gang activity, teach students about the negative consequences of gang involvement, and develop positive relations between students and law enforcement officials.

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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