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, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to provide girls with positive alternatives to substance use and gang involvement.
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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults
Goal: The goal of this media campaign was to increase public knowledge of the warning signs of stroke.
Impact: The ability to name the warning signs of stroke increased in communities exposed to television ads.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce substance use and other illegal behaviors among teenage males.
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 Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to promote investments in underserved urban neighborhoods.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families
Goal: A 10-session group program, with two individual sessions, for divorced mothers and their children to promote resilience in children after parental divorce.
Impact: At the fifteen-year followup, NBP reduced the incidence of internalizing disorders for females and males and substance-related disorders and substance use for males.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Public Safety, Teens, Families, Urban
Goal: The mission of New Directions for Youth is to provide comprehensive programs that help at-risk youth become productive, self-sufficient and healthy young adults, and create supportive family environments.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: 2004 goals of the New Families Center include screening 1,600 children for eligibility in health coverage programs, enrolling 700 children in health care coverage programs, immunizing over 1,300 children; and serving 900 families in need of health care navigation services to help address individual barriers to getting health care.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults
Goal: New Hope provided full-time workers with several benefits: an earnings supplement to raise their income above poverty, low-cost health insurance, and subsidized child care. For those unable to find full-time work, the program offered help in finding a job and referral to a wage-paying community service job when necessary.