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, Community / Social Environment, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Girls 2000 is to provide low-income girls with exposure and experiences to help them overcome obstacles that they may encounter.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease pregnancy in adolescent and teenage girls.
Impact: Those who participated in one or more program components were significantly less likely to experience pregnancy than nonparticipants (5.9% vs 12.3%). Those who participated in two or more program components were significantly less likely to engage in sexual intercourse without birth control than those who participated in only a single program component (8.9% vs 20.6%).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
Goal: The mission of Go Sun Smart is to reduce the risk of skin cancer among ski area employees and, specifically, to reduce the number of sun burns employees incur.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to educate children about health and to prevent substance abuse and violence.
Impact: The Great Body Shop shows that comprehensive substance abuse and violence prevention and health curriculums in schools for elementary and middle school students can improve knowledge, values, thinking skills, and behaviors around substance abuse and violence topic areas.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban
Goal: Green Guerillas' goal is to help gardeners cultivate and manage community gardens that thrive as parks, urban farms, and outdoor community centers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: The goal of GreenScapes is to encourage companies and organizations to make more environmentally conscious landscaping decisions and to reduce, reuse, recycle and rebuy.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Families
Goal: The primary goal of GGC is to reduce youth substance abuse and problem behaviors by increasing family involvement that is rewarding and enhances parent-child bonds.
Impact: Significant positive effects on increasing family involvement and interaction and reducing youth substance abuse were observed. A cost-benefit analysis estimates a $5.85 benefit for every dollar invested in the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke
Goal: The goal of the Hartslag Limburg intervention is to reduce heart disease among low-income, high-risk community members.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Older Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of HFHG is to grow and donate organic fruits and vegetables to the needy in Sonoma county.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Families
Goal: The goal of Early Head Start (EHS) is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of very young children, and promote healthy family functioning. The goal of Head Start is to increase school readiness of young children in low-income families.
Impact: Studies have demonstrated positive effects of the program for both 3- and 4-year-old children on pre-reading, pre-writing, vocabulary, and parent reports of children’s literacy skills. For 3-year-olds, a greater number of parents reported improved access to health care and better health status.