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.

Submit a Promising Practice

Family Peer Support (Hamilton County, Ohio)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Poverty, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Family Peer Support program is to increase family economic and social self-sufficiency, and to connect parents to needed physical health, behavior health, and educational resources for their child. Family peer support programs generally focus on fostering encouragement of personal responsibility and self-determination, improving family health and wellness, and supporting engagement and communication with providers and systems of care. Research shows that peer support programs promote empowerment and self-esteem, self-management, engagement and social inclusion, as well as improving the social networks of families who receive these services. Research evidence qualifies peer support services as evidence-based through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality guidelines.

Salzer MS, Schwenk E, Brusilovskiy E: Certified peer specialist roles and activities: results from a national survey. Psychiatric Services 61:520–523, 2010.
Repper J, Carter T: A review of the literature on peer support in mental health services. Journal of Mental Health 20: 392–411, 2011.
Cook JA: Peer-delivered wellness recovery services: from evidence to widespread implementation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 35:87–89, 2011

Family Place Libraries™ (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of Family Place Libraries™ is to increase the capacity of libraries throughout the nation to recognize and realize their full potential as community hubs for healthy child and family development, parent and community involvement and lifelong learning beginning at birth.

Fast Track (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens

Goal: The main goals of this program are to increase communication and bonds between and among the three domains of school, home, and the individual; to enhance children's social, cognitive, and problem-solving skills; to improve peer relationships; and ultimately to decrease disruptive behavior at home and in school.

First 5 Power of Preschool (PoP) (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The program's goal is to create free, high-quality preschool opportunities for children in California and help guide efforts to create a statewide preschool system.

First Step to Success

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children

Goal: The mission of the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior (IVDB) is to empower schools and social service agencies to address violence and destructive behavior, at the point of school entry and beyond, in order to ensure safety and to facilitate the academic achievement and healthy social development of children and youth. The primary goal of this program is to divert antisocial kindergartners from an antisocial behavior pattern during their subsequent school careers and to develop in them the competencies needed to build effective teacher- and peer-related, social-behavioral adjustments.

FRIENDS Programs

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the FRIENDS Programs is to teach cognitive-behavioral skills to reduce anxiety in elementary school students who are or were exposed to violence.

Impact: The FRIENDS Programs and specific studies of them indicate that school-based anxiety prevention programs can increase standardized mathematics achievement scores, decrease life stressors, and reduce victimization by community violence in children.

Georgia Retrofit Program (Georgia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Children, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Georgia Retrofit Program is to improve air quality by reducing emissions among diesel fueled fleet vehicles.

Girls' Circle (USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Children, Teens, Women

Goal: The goal of Girls' Circles is to enhance girls' abilities so they are able to take full advantage of their talents, academic interests, career pursuits, and potential for healthy relationships.

Impact: The program has shown statistically significant improvements for girls in Girls Circle programs with the following outcomes: increases in self-efficacy, attachment to school, positive body image, and social support, and decreases in self-harming behavior and alcohol use rates.

Good NEWS for Better Living through Improved Fitness and Education (Good NEWS for a Better L.I.F.E.) (Azle, TX)

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

Goal: The goal of Good NEWS for a Better L.I.F.E. is to improve the health of senior citizens through participation in educational and physical activities.

Grab n Go (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of Grab n Go's is to ensure students begin the day with a healthy meal, in turn affecting overall health and education of students.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.