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 Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Rural
Goal: The goal of the Mineral Belt Trail is to provide safe access throughout Leadville, CO to schools, historic areas, and natural landscapes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Men, Urban
Goal: The goals of Mpowerment are to mobilize young gay and bisexual men to reduce sexual risk taking, encourage regular HIV testing, and build positive social connections with peers.
Impact: The Mpowerment intervention successfully developed a mechanism to socialize young gay men to safer sex. Since this intervention relies primarily on volunteers, it is relatively inexpensive for communities to maintain and can continue to be made available for future generations.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Goal: The goal of this intervention is to prevent new STD infections.
Impact: The Safe in the City program shows that clinic waiting room videos displaying prevention knowledge and techniques can actually help to reduce the number of new infections of certain STDs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: Reduce hospital/nursing home readmissions and improve care for older adults.
Impact: Reduced 30-day readmission rate from 18.2 to 8.9 percent over the course of 2 years, resulting in estimated savings of more than $17 million through 1,804 avoided readmissions.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of Together Learning Choices was to help HIV-infected youth increase their use of health care, decrease drug and alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors, and improve their quality of life.
Impact: Together Learning Choices (TLC) showed that prevention programs can effectively reduce risk acts among HIV-infected youths.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Adults, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) is to reduce the number of repeat victims of intentional violent injury by providing assessment, counseling, and social support from a multi-disciplinary team.
Impact: Patients who participated in the Violence Intervention Program were less likely to be re-hospitalized due to violent injury.
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, Economy / Employment, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Arriba Juntos is to provide those most at risk for prolonged poverty with educational and employment programs.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Environmental Justice, Children
Goal: To enhance academic performance and imbue global citizenship by nurturing children’s creativity, developing empathy, and instilling healthy lifestyles.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Arts Residency Interventions in Special Education (ARISE) Project is to help youth develop creative expression, critical thinking, and basic learning through the arts.