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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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Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Program (Vermont)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Program is to prevent early childhood caries.

Be Food Safe (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of Be Food Safe is to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness by instructing consumers in proper procedures for handling and preparing food.

Bridging the Gap: Youth Violence Reduction (Richmond)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To develop a useful, sustainable and replicable model designed to reduce the risk of re-injury and mortality in Richmond area youths who have been previously hospitalized with violence related injuries including gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and assault injuries.

BuckleUpBoston! Child Passenger Safety Program (Boston, MA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families

Goal: The goal of BUB is to increase awareness about CPS and usage rates of seats amongst low-income families in the city of Boston.

Cancer Screening Office Systems (Cancer SOS) (Hillsborough County, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Cancer SOS provider education program is to increase cancer screening in primary care settings serving disadvantaged populations.

Cancer Screenings for Incarcerated Women (Indianapolis, IN)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide routine cancer screenings to the underserved population of incarcerated women in Indiana.

Car Seat Program (Washington County, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase the proper usage of child safety seats in Washington County, NY.

Caring Bear Picnic (Arenac County, MI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Rural

Goal: The mission of the Caring Bear Picnic is to educate children and parents on how to live healthy lifestyles through hands-on activities.

Impact: For over 30 years, the Caring Bear Picnic has educated children and parents on how to live healthy lifestyles through hands-on activities.

Carolinas Cancer Education and Screening (CARES) Project (North Carolina & South Carolina)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of this project is to improve colorectal cancer screening awareness among low-income women traditionally underserved by cancer control efforts.

Catch-A-Roach Project (Hawaii)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the Hawaii Catch-A-Roach Project is to reduce preventable asthma complications and emergency room visits and hospitalizations by increasing awareness of the link between cockroaches and asthma and reducing exposure to cockroaches.

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.

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