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 Local, 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.
Filed under Local, Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this project is primarily to empower patients who may be utilizing 911 or the ED for issues that can be better managed either at home or by a primary care provider by providing social support and strategies to reduce potential and/or perceived barriers to improved health.
Impact: Patients have benefited from the social aspects of the program becoming more active in the community, be it taking the bus, going for walks or visiting local food pantries along with an increase in patient compliance and self-reported increase in quality of life.
Filed under Local, Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
Goal: PATCH envisions a supportive environment in which all adolescents are able to reach optimal health, safety, and economic security.
MISSION: To improve adolescent health and well being by engaging, educating, and empowering youth and adults as trusted partners in care.
Impact: Health care providers and teens who participate in the PATCH program show significant improvements in knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions to seek and provide quality sexual health care.
Note: This practice has been Archived.
Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
Goal: The Wisconsin Adolescent Health Care Communication Program (WAHCCP) seeks to improve communication between providers and adolescent patients, and therefore improve the delivery of sexual and reproductive health care to young people in Wisconsin.
Impact: The Wisconsin Adolescent Health Care Communication Program bridges the communication gap between adolescents and their health care providers through two workshops resulting in increasing knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions among participants.
Goal: The mission of BARHII is to transform public health practice for the purpose of eliminating health inequities using a broad spectrum of approaches that improve community health. Consistent with that mission, BARHII has set the following objectives:
- Train staff on broad spectrum of strategies to improve nutrition and physical activity, and reduce health inequities.
- Develop regional collaborations of public health departments, organizations, coalitions and communities to participate in a comprehensive approach to improve nutrition and physical activity.
- Develop a media advocacy campaign to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public about key issues of nutrition and physical activity, and their link to chronic disease and health inequities.
- Use the regional platform to achieve changes in institutional practices and public policies, and increase support for public health.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Bay Area SCORES program is to reduce obesity, increase physical fitness, and manage cardiovascular health-related risks while improving academic performance in children between the ages of 6 and 12 through soccer, creative expression, service learning, “hip hop for health,” and creative writing.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among older adults.
Impact: Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher colorectal cancer screening attendance, as well as having more positive attitudes about screening and placing a higher priority on screening.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Transportation Justice Working Group is to increase awareness of the relationship between transportation and health.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Disabilities, Children, Teens
Goal: The mission of this program is to stabilize students, help them earn their high school diploma, and prepare them for a future as productive workers.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goals of this program are to promote and maintain the broadest understanding of health and wellness in early childhood settings and to create linkages and promote collaboration between health and safety professionals and child care professionals.