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 / Prevention & Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural
Goal: The mission of Migrant Health Promotion is to strengthen the capacity of farmworker and migrant families to live healthy lives within healthy communities.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults
Goal: Million Hearts seeks to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the next five years (by 2017) by coordinating cardiovascular prevention implementations in its private-public partnerships.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children
Goal: Program objectives are to:
- Plan and conduct five sets of interactive tobacco prevention mini-sessions for youth and parents in multiple school-linked settings;
- Plan and implement one annual media advocacy event coordinated with the national Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Plan and conduct tobacco educational outreach and implementation guidance for coaches and athletic staff. Teen Presenters deliver tobacco prevention mini-sessions to younger children, grades 1-6.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children
Goal: The Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation’s mission is to provide complimentary and comprehensive asthma care and education to children and families in Chicago’s underserved communities via mobile medical units called "Asthma Vans."
Impact: The Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation’s Asthma Vans provide children and families in Chicago’s underserved communities with complimentary and comprehensive asthma care and education resulting in reduced school absenteeism, decreased ER visits and lower hospitalization rates.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Urban
Goal: The MoodGYM and Blue Pages websites aim to alleviate depression symptoms and increase understanding of depression using the Internet.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Men, Urban
Goal: The goals of Mpowerment are to mobilize young gay and bisexual men to reduce sexual risk taking, encourage regular HIV testing, and build positive social connections with peers.
Impact: The Mpowerment intervention successfully developed a mechanism to socialize young gay men to safer sex. Since this intervention relies primarily on volunteers, it is relatively inexpensive for communities to maintain and can continue to be made available for future generations.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Goal: The goal of this investigation was to stop Ameriquest's predatory lending practices.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: The ultimate goal of MST is to empower families to build a healthier environment through the mobilization of existing child, family, and community resources.
Impact: Compared to youth receiving usual-treatment services, those receiving MST were arrested about half as often in the post-treatment period. Recidivism rates were significantly less for MST-treated youth. Youth who received MST also had an average of 73 fewer days of incarceration.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Poverty
Goal: To increase the amount of fresh produce and nutritious foods that are distributed to local food banks across the United States through the Feeding America network.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To create successful smoke-free strategies that are rooted in cultural tradition.
Impact: By recognizing the cultural traditions of sacred tobacco use, an inter-tribal coalition was successful in implementing culturally appropriate tobacco protections for tribal members.