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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 Loading Dock (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: TLD's mission is to increase the supply and use of affordable building materials for housing and community improvement by redirecting landfill-bound, reusable materials into productive use.

The Soccer Coach Manual: America SCORES

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To empower students in urban communities to lead healthy lifestyles and become agents of change in their communities using soccer.

Too Good for Violence (Tampa, FL)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the TGFV program is to help students learn the skills they need to get along peacefully with others and avoid violence.

Impact: Too Good programs empower children with the social-emotional learning and substance abuse prevention skills they need to lead happy and healthy lives.

Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goals of the curriculum are to 1) illustrate that violence is preventable, 2) teach students that anger is a normal part of life and that anger can be expressed and channeled in healthy, constructive ways, 3) help students understand that controlling anger and violence is part of maturing, 4) identify positive ways for students to express their anger, and 5) help them think about and use alternatives to violence in conflict situations.

Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent (W.O.M.A.N.), Inc. (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Women, Urban

Goal: The goals of W.O.M.A.N., Inc. are to end abuse and assist battered women in regaining control of their lives.

¡Cuídate! (Philadelphia, PA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of Cuídate is to reduce HIV transmission among Latino youth through culturally tailored programming.

A.I.R. Harlem (Harlem)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To improve the quality of life and academic achievement of asthmatic children, helping families break the revolving cycle of poverty that is worsened by chronic disease.

Impact: A reduction in ER visits by 64%, a reduction in overnight hospitalization by 85% and a reduction in school absences by 69%.

Adopt-A-Highway (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of Adopt-A-Highway programs is to improve the appearance of roadsides and to reduce the annual cost of picking up litter on the highway system.

Aggression Replacement Training® (ART® ) (Scotia, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of ART® is to improve social skill competence, anger control, and moral reasoning.

Arriba Juntos (San Francisco, CA)

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.

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.