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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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The City as a Park - Climate change reduction and city beautification in Denver (City of Denver)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: To slow climate change by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while also establishing a network of public spaces where residents can walk to enjoy a vibrant urban landscape and healthy ecosystem.

The Diabetes Self-Management Program (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The Diabetes Self-Management Program is a group workshop that educates individuals with diabetes on techniques to help them manage their disease and live more active lives.

The Eastern Virginia Care Transitions Partnership (Urbanna, VA)

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.

The Effect of Guided Care Teams on the Use of Health Services

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this study was to determine the effect of interdisciplinary primary care teams on health care utilization by patients with multiple chronic conditions.

Impact: This study concluded that guided care models can significantly impact home health care episodes.

The Green Suppliers Network (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this program is to help suppliers continuously learn ways to save money, optimize resource use, and eliminate waste through on-site technical reviews.

The Holistic Management Project (Washington)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources

Goal: The mission of the Holistic Management Project was to develop capacity in a diverse group of individuals and to improve the social, ecological, and economic status of the state of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The Memphis Environmental Court (Shelby County, TN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Governance, Families

Goal: The Memphis Enviromental Court was designed to serve as the chief vehicle for enforcing a wide range of laws relating to the health and quality of life of its residents, and to give new meaning to the term "expedient justice" by its ability to respond in a quick and consistent manner. In 1991 the Tennessee State Legislature created the Shelby County Environmental Court, and expanded the new court's powers to include the "injunctive authority" to mandate that defendants comply with the environmental codes.

The Montana Model (Yellowstone County, MT)

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

Goal: The aim of the Montana Model is to provide health care to the 11 percent of the county citizens living below the federal poverty level and the many more living in near poverty, while simultaneously providing a medical clinic with diversity and complexity for family practice residents to obtain enriched training with the public health perspective.

The North Carolina Healthy Weight Initiative (North Carolina)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: Launched in the fall of 2002, the plan, Moving Our Children Toward a Healthy Weight: Finding the Will and the Way, calls for a multilevel approach to reducing the number of overweight and obese children. It focuses not only on behavioral and interpersonal change, but also on the organizational, community, and societal changes necessary to support healthy eating habits and increased physical activity for children, teens, and their families.

The Seven Challenges (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the program is to treat adolescents with drug and behavioral problems using an individualized counseling method incorporating the Seven Challenges.

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.