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 / Children's Health, Children, Urban
Goal: The primary goal of the ‘Switch-Play’ promising practice was to develop and test three approaches towards the achievement of healthy weight maintenance among 10-year-old children: (1) through reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors (e.g. TV viewing, playing electronic games and recreational computer use); (2) through increasing skills and enjoyment of physical activity; or (3) through a combination of these two strategies.
Impact: Children participating in the behavioral modification and motor skills development components of Switch-Play had improved BMI.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Adults, Families
Goal: GAIN is part of a large-scale, welfare-to-work initiative program operating in every county in California. In L.A. County, the initiative is under the supervision of the Department of Public Social Services. It helps local businesses and employers find and hire quality workers who seek meaningful employment. Prospective workers are participants in the state welfare programs known as California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) or General Relief Opportunities for Work (GROW).
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children
Goal: The goal of the Ohio Department of Health School-Based Dental Sealant Program is to provide grants to agencies that aim to conduct dental sealant programs in schools with large proportions of low-income students.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: Since Project SWIFT was not a direct service program, the major goal was for youth to receive direct services from partner agencies. Toward this aim, the project educated parents and staff from partner agencies to better meet the needs of youth with disabilities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: To decrease total and saturated fat intake, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and body weight.
Impact: The dietitian-delivered intervention effectively improved the care of patients with hyperlipidemia.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Transportation Justice Working Group is to increase awareness of the relationship between transportation and health.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens, Adults
Goal: To decrease the number of children hit by motor vehicles in school zones and crosswalks.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goals of the Mental Health First Aid course are to: 1) learn to identify risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, 2) utilize evidence-based strategies to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and 3) become a resource in your community to guide people where to turn for help.
NAMI-DuPage's yearly goal is to complete 70 training courses per year.
Impact: Mental Health First Aid helps community members become aware of signs and symptoms of someone in a mental health crisis and become a resource to mental health and behavioral health programs in their community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Urban
Goal: The 2001 action plan, which is more aggressive than the Kyoto Protocol, calls for a 10 percent reduction below 1990 carbon dioxide emissions by 2010.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of Students for Nutrition and Exercise is to encourage healthy eating and daily physical activity in middle school students.
Impact: The SNaX program shows that programs which train peer advocates to encourage healthy eating and daily physical activity in students can serve to benefit those trained as peer advocates after the intervention.