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.
Huesos Fuertes, Familia Saludable (Strong Bones, Healthy Family): California Bone Health Campaign (California)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Women, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of the CBHC is to increase the consumption of 1% (low-fat) milk in order to prevent osteoporosis among low-income Latino mothers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce blood pressure among African American men.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to teach children effective problem-solving skills.
Impact: Studies demonstrated that ICPS participants scored better than the control group on impulsiveness, inhibition, and total behavior problems; showed fewer high-risk behaviors than never-trained controls; showed improvement in positive, prosocial behaviors and decreases in antisocial behaviors; and performed better on standardized achievement tests.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The "I Have a Dream"® Program helps children from low-income areas reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term program of mentoring, tutoring, and enrichment with an assured opportunity for higher education.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Women
Goal: The Illinois WISEWOMAN program (IWP) aims to lower heart disease and other chronic disease risk factors through screening and lifestyle classes for women in high-risk populations in service counties throughout Illinois.
Impact: The Illinois WISEWOMAN Program addresses the disproportionate risk of cardiovascular disease among disadvantaged, low-income women. Participation in the program has been shown to improve dietary, physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of this immunization case management intervention is to improve immunization rates among infants of low-income, urban, African American families.
Impact: Immunization case management increased the knowledge of immunization schedules, rate of well-child visits, and up-to-date immunization rate for children of participating families.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of IMPACT is to improve depression treatment by providing collaborative care to older adults.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to increase colorectal cancer screening among an Asian American population.
Impact: A multicomponent intervention, including an educational session, can increase colorectal screening rates among Filipino Americans, even without the distribution of free fecal occult blood test kits.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to increase HIV preventative behavior among inner-city minority adolescents.
Impact: Students in the classroom-based intervention group had more sustained changes in HIV prevention behavior over time compared to those in the peer-based intervention groups.
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.