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 / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The goals of this promising practice were to identify the transportation-disadvantaged population that lacks nonemergency medical care because of low access to transportation; determine the medical conditions that this population experiences and describe other characteristics of these individuals, including geography; estimate the cost of providing the transportation necessary for this population to obtain medical transportation according to various transportation service needs and trip modes; estimate the healthcare costs and benefits that would result if these individuals obtained transportation to non-emergency medical care for key healthcare conditions prevalent for this population; and compare the relative costs (from transportation and routine healthcare) and benefits (such as improved quality of life and better managed care, leading to less emergency care) to determine the cost-effectiveness of providing transportation for selected conditions.
Impact: These results show that adding relatively small transportation costs do not make a disease-specific, otherwise cost-effective environment non-cost-effective. Providing increased access to non-emergency medical care does improve quality of life and saves money per patient.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Environmental Justice, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Environmental Health Leadership Training is to inform and empower the predominately low income people of three urban communities in Northern Manhattan (Central Harlem, West Harlem, and Washington Heights) to improve their capacity to organize for community environmental health and justice in New York City. The long term goal of these efforts is to help intervene and reduce exposure to environmental toxicants which are adversely affecting the health of disadvantaged, medically underserved, predominantly African American and Latino populations in Northern Manhattan.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families
Goal: The goal of Family Friends is to offer support to families who are raising children with developmental disabilities or special needs.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Families
Goal: FAAN aims to increase public awareness, promote advocacy and education, and advance research for those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban
Goal: ReStore Kansas City was created to be an entrepreneurial, fundraising arm for Habitat for Humanity Kansas City through sales of donated new and used building materials, furniture and appliances. By salvaging useable materials from people who no longer need them, ReStore is saving space in landfills, giving the public affordable materials, and helping to further the mission of affordable housing in the Kansas City area.
Impact: Two stores raised more than $5 million and approximately 60,000,000 lbs. of material were diverted from going into the local landfill.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: The goal of this program is to promote active people in active neighborhoods
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Children, Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of the Healthy Places Coalition is to advance public health involvement in land-use and transportation planning in order to ensure that all neighborhoods in California promote the opportunity to live a healthy life.
Filed under Good Idea, Health, Families, Urban
Goal: Heartsong’s mission is to provide children with special needs and their families with clinically-based music and art therapy programs.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The mission of this program is to provide a community-based, and community supported, economically viable and consumer-oriented, quality transportation service for seniors.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to divert young first-time offenders from court into a restorative justice process in which the offender and victim negotiate a satisfactory solution.