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 Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Rural
The goal of ELSB is to help moderately to severely disabled children develop the skills and behaviors they need to succeed in a standard reading program.
ELSB demonstrates that reading skills curriculum adapted to alternative instructional needs of cognitively disabled children can more effectively improve literacy as compared to sight-word-only programs.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Rural
The goal of this program is to prevent substance abuse among youth.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Rural
The goal of the program is to intervene in the lives of high-school dropouts and provide them with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Rural
The overall goal is to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and improve the care of people with diabetes by improving provider education.
The results indicate that a half-day site visit with an experienced diabetologist can lead to sustained, improved glycemic and lipid control in previously-uncontrolled diabetic patients. The online iDose tool provides an easy way for healthcare providers to calculate insulin dosage.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Rural
The goal of this program is to improve communication between providers and patients about colorectal cancer screening.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural
The goal of POWER is to promote weight loss and glycemic control among individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes living in rural communities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy, Rural
Medical-legal partnerships perform advocacy services for vulnerable and under-served populations. These populations are typically burdened disproportionately by legal and medical problems. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of a rural medical-legal partnership (MLP).
The rural medical-legal partnership continued to show social and financial impacts, such as health care recovery dollars (319% return on investment between 2007 and 2009), Social Security benefits, family law services, and end-of-life guidance.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural
The SAAF program aims to prevent initiation of risk behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol and cigarette use, and sexual activity in low-income African American preadolescents.
This program has helped create positive family interactions and support youth and teens as they take the next steps toward a positive future.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Women, Rural
The goal of Strong Women – Healthy Hearts is to decrease cardiovascular disease among middle-aged women through behavioral changes in diet and physical activity.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Teens, Women, Rural
The goal of the study was to address the special psychosocial needs of adolescents and increase contraception use, equip adolescents with the education needed to make responsible decisions related to family planning matters, and decrease unintended pregnancies.
After a one-year follow-up, teens were less likely to be pregnant. Intermediate findings at six months showed that teens in the experimental group were more likely to continue using a birth control method and less likely to experience difficulty in dealing with contraceptive-related problems.