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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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Pounds Off Digitally (Raleigh-Durham, NC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Pounds Off Digitally podcast is increase weight loss among overweight and obese adults.

Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote positive marital relationships and to prevent marital problems.

Primary and Secondary Control Enhancement Training (Los Angeles, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent and control depression among children.

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: PACE provides comprehensive medical and social services to certain frail, elderly people (participants) still living in the community. Most of the participants who are in PACE are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

Impact: Key research findings demonstrate PACE effectiveness in delivering gold-standard care for older adults and its approach can be a model for others looking to improve the health care system.

Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Camp® (USA)

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

Goal: The goal of the Farm Safety Day Camp is to make farm and ranch life safer and healthier for children through education and training.

Project Access of Durham County (Durham, NC)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality

Goal: Project Access Durham County seeks to provide comprehensive healthcare to low-income, uninsured individuals residing in the county for at least six months.

Project ACHIEVE (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: Project ACHIEVE's ultimate goal is to help design and implement effective school and schooling processes to maximize the academic and social/emotional/behavioral progress and achievement of all students.

Project Active (Dallas, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults

Goal: The goal of Project Achieve is to increase physical activity and cardiorespiratory health among sedentary adults.

Project BOOST (Building Options and Opportunities for Students) (New York)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to provide students with opportunities that will help them gain admission to high-achieving high schools.

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) (New Mexico)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Rural

Goal: The mission of Project ECHO is to develop the capacity to safely and
effectively treat chronic, common, and complex diseases in rural and
underserved areas, and to monitor outcomes of this treatment.

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.