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.

Submit a Promising Practice

Get Movin' Challenge (Owensboro, KY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Families

Goal: The contest is designed as a fun way for community members to get more exercise, with a target of 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day.

Girls on the Run

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

Goal: The mission of Girls on the Run is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. The program envisions a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.

Impact: Girls who participate in Girls on the Run have increased physical activity levels, higher physical activity commitment, and improved body image.

Growing Healthy Kids Project (Orange County, NC)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families

Goal: The aim of the Growing Healthy Kids Project is to support nutrition, healthy eating, and family unity among local families by providing community gardening space.

Health Literacy in a Free Clinic Setting (Eastern Jackson County, Missouri)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate during every visit, to assist patients in developing a longitudinal personal record of medical history and care plans, and to provide a tangible way to engage patients in their own care. The overarching goal was better compliance, recognition of medication side effects, and improved adherence to specific and agreed upon lifestyle changes.

Impact: Sixty percent of patients participate in care plan tracking with a health notebook, and 80% percent of patients complete a prep form to help organize visits.

Healthy Baby Manitoba (Canada - Manitoba)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women

Goal: The goal of the Healthy Baby program is to provide financial assistance and community support to low-income pregnant women in order to support the health of Manitoba’s future children.

Healthy Food Environments (North Carolina)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults

Goal: The goal of Healthy Food Environments is to increase availability, visibility, and affordability of healthy foods and beverages for employees, volunteers, and visitors on hospital campuses.

Healthy Futures (Northwestern Lower Michigan)

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

Goal: The overall goal of Healthy Futures is to improve community health by ensuring access to health care and community resources for pregnant women and young children in the region.

Impact: In 2012, over 3,500 contacts, 970 home visits, and 30,000 educational mailings were delivered. Of those who initiated breastfeeding at birth, 67% of enrolled infants are still breastfeeding at eight weeks post-partum. Eighty-three percent of enrolled two-year-old children are fully immunized.

Healthy Howard (Howard County, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Healthy Howard opens doors for individuals, groups and communities to improve their health and wellness.

Impact: Healthy Howard provides resources to schools, restaurants, workplaces, and childcare centers to help them improve the health and choices of their students, employees, or clients.

HeartStrings (Dane, Wisconsin)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alternative Medicine, Older Adults

Goal: HeartStrings aims to enhance the quality of life for individuals with special needs. Through regularly-recurring, interactive sessions, the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet addresses the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of hundreds of individuals each year in a comfortable and familiar setting.

HeartStrings mission statement is as follows:

1) To enhance the quality of life of underserved populations through live, interactive, and exceptional quality musical experiences that are informed by the American Music Therapy Association’s Standards of Practice.

2) To bring meaningful arts experiences directly to participants in a comfortable and
familiar setting.

3) To provide a valuable resource for facilities that serve aging populations, adults with dementia, and individuals with disabilities, or long-term illnesses.

Impact: HeartStrings has reached over 3,200 individuals with disabilities, long-term illness, and assisted-living needs, as well as aging adults with dementia since its start in 2006.

Homeless Prenatal Program (San Francisco)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Women, Families, Urban

Goal: The Homeless Prenatal Program works with families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by providing prenatal and parenting support, family finances and stability, and basic needs services.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

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.
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:

The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
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:

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.
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.
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.