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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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Full Circle Diabetes Program (Minneapolis)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Full Circle Diabetes Program aims to provide a holistic approach to diabetes self-management.

Fulmer SPICES: An Overall Assessment Tool for Older Adults (New York, NY)

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

Goal: The goal of this tool is to improve patient care for older adults by helping nurses to evaluate common conditions.

Gang Reduction Program

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The primary goal of the GRP is to reduce youth gang crime and violence in targeted neighborhoods/communities by addressing the personal, family and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity.

Gang Resistance Is Paramount (GRIP) (Paramount, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate students about the dangers of gangs, discourage gang membership, educate parents about the signs of gang involvement, and provide families with resources to reduce gang activities in their homes and neighborhoods.

Georgia Retrofit Program (Georgia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Children, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Georgia Retrofit Program is to improve air quality by reducing emissions among diesel fueled fleet vehicles.

Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE) Model

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

Goal: The goal of the GRACE model is to increase quality of care for low-income seniors.

Impact: The GRACE model has been shown to improve quality of care and health outcomes in low-income seniors.

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.

Get on Board (Tucson, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Get on Board program is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Tucson, AZ.

Get Real About AIDS (Colorado)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens

Goal: The goal of the Get Real About AIDS program is to help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS among high-school-aged young people.

Get Real About Violence (Evanston, IL)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent violence among children and adolescents.

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.