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 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.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: Elev8 brings together schools, families and the community in low-income areas to ensure that students succeed in school and in life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety
Goal: The goal of Emergency Department Means Restriction Education is to help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate action to restrict access to firearms, alcohol, and prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the home in order to lessen the risk of self harm.
Impact: The Means Restriction program shows that ED-based programs and provided practical information can help parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate, new action to restrict access to dangers in the home.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The Emergency Room Intervention for Suicidal Adolescent Females focuses on changing the conceptualization of suicidal behavior and expectations for therapy, thereby increasing attendance at outpatient therapy and decreasing future suicide risk.
Impact: The intervention increases the likelihood of follow-up treatment in an outpatient clinic and reduces suicide risk among adolescent females who have visited an emergency room due to a suicide attempt.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goals of Engage DuPage include improving the health status of self-pay Emergency Department patients, increasing the revenue appropriately owed to hospitals for services rendered, improving the financial assistance processes involving self-pay Emergency Department patients, and reducing the number of avoidable Emergency Department visits among self-pay patients.
Impact: By the end of 2014, 57% of all benefit applications that were submitted were approved. In addition, 29% of all interested patients were connected to a primary care provider through a Community Access Specialist.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of EnhanceFitness is to encourage older adults to engage in regular physical activity to improve their health and well-being.
Impact: EnhanceFitness participants reported a 13% improvement in social function, a 52% improvement in depression, and a 35% improvement in physical functioning. Additionally, participants' healthcare costs were 21% less than those of non-participants after one year.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity
Goal: MANNA uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. By providing medically tailored meals and nutrition education, we empower people to improve their health and quality of life.
Impact: MANNA members report significant health care cost reductions due to improved health.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Adults
Goal: The overall goal of the FAST program is to intervene early to help at-risk youth succeed in the community, at home, and in school and thus avoid problems such as adolescent delinquency, violence, addiction, and dropping out of school.
Impact: FAST has generally improved aggressive behaviors and increased positive behaviors amongst participants as reported by teachers and parents.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Rural
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent substance abuse among youth.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children
Goal: The goal of FET is to strengthen families by increasing their ability to adapt to new situations, particularly developmental and cultural challenges the family will face.