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 Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children
Goal: The goal of the Caring School Community program is to build classroom and school communities in order to support learning, academic success, positive relationships and character formation.
Impact: After 3 years, CSC students, relative to their comparison school counterparts, showed a greater sense of the school as a caring community, more fondness for school, stronger academic motivation, more frequent reading of books outside of school, a higher sense of efficacy, stronger commitment to democratic values, better conflict-resolution skills, more concern for others, more frequent altruistic behavior, and less use of alcohol.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Behavioral and Social: Social Support Interventions in Community Settings (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
Goal: To increase screening for breast cancer
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Decreasing Tobacco Use Among Workers: Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Tobacco Use (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends smoke-free policies to reduce secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use on the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness. Evidence is considered strong based on results from studies that showed effectiveness of smoke‑free policies in:
Reducing exposure to secondhand smoke
Reducing the prevalence of tobacco use
Increasing the number of tobacco users who quit
Reducing the initiation of tobacco use among young people
Reducing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, including acute cardiovascular events
Economic evidence indicates that smoke-free policies can reduce healthcare costs substantially. In addition, the evidence shows smoke-free policies do not have an adverse economic impact on businesses, including bars and restaurants.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes
Impact: The Diabetes Community Guide can improve biological components of diabetes for those treated for either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in both community clinics and managed care organizations.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Reducing Alcohol-Impaired Driving: Maintaining Current Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) Laws (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Adults
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Reducing Tobacco Use Initiation: Mass Media Campaigns When Combined with Other Interventions (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Chicago Housing Health Partnership is to use tailored case management to place chronically medically ill homeless individuals in stable, long-term housing and facilitate access to medical services.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
Goal: The goal of the Colorectal Web interactive website is to promote colorectal cancer screening.
Impact: Colorectal Web is more effective than a standard colorectal cancer website at prompting previously unscreened individuals to choose a preferred colorectal cancer screening test and to be screened for colorectal cancer.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Families
Goal: The purpose of the Community Supporting Breastfeeding (CSB) designation program is to create a culture of breastfeeding support in communities, ultimately increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration rates and the health and well-being of families.
The CSB program’s immediate goals are to increase positive perceptions toward breastfeeding, increase the availability of breastfeeding resources, and reduce barriers experienced in the community by women of child-bearing age. The long-term goal of the project is to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates through a sustainable model of cross-sector support for breastfeeding.
The project also effectively addresses the racial and socioeconomic disparities in breastfeeding rates. The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition’s collective impact approach supports efforts of those serving African-American and lower income women. As a result of this project, these organizations receive the support they need to increase their impact when they become aligned with other, larger organizations working toward similar goals, creating a synergy across groups working on breastfeeding support.
Impact: Based on results from our evaluation, along with improved exclusive breastfeeding rates in the majority of the communities that could be associated with the CSB criteria, we believe the CSB program is impactful.