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 Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety
Goal: The goal of the DISP program is to reduce drunk driving among alcohol traffic offenders.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Rural
Goal: The goal of this program was to increase full DTaP series vaccination in Wilson County, Kansas.
Impact: Immunization completion rates increased from 70% to 82% after implementation.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the program is to decrease alcohol-related automobile accidents during the prom season by making alcohol-awareness presentations to high school students.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Women
Goal: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) is a community-based intervention program to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their infants in Klamath County, Oregon.
Impact: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) educates pregnant women about dental hygiene to prevent dental infection in their children. Ninety-three percent of all participating infants were 100% cavity-free on their second birthday.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: ECEAP is a community-based, family-focused, comprehensive, pre-kindergarten program designed to help children and their families who are in poverty. The program focuses on helping three- and four-year-olds prepare for and succeed in school while helping their parents progress toward self-sufficiency.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to help preschool children learn emotional self-regulation and facilitate their psychosocial development.
Impact: The Early HeartSmarts program was effective in increasing children’s social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language development in a classroom setting.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve reading skills for elementary school students.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Rural
Goal: The goal of ELSB is to help moderately to severely disabled children develop the skills and behaviors they need to succeed in a standard reading program.
Impact: ELSB demonstrates that reading skills curriculum adapted to alternative instructional needs of cognitively disabled children can more effectively improve literacy as compared to sight-word-only programs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent behavior problems and substance abuse.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Families
Goal: EFFEKT seeks to reduce teenage alcohol use by changing the attitudes of their parents. Information is disseminated to the parents at school meetings at the beginning of each semester and through regular communications.
Impact: EFFEKT seeks to reduce teen drinking by changing parental behaviors through structured presentations at their child’s school. Working with parents proved to be an effective way to reduce underage drinking as well as teen delinquency.