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 / 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, Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: Tri 4 Schools encourages kids to participate in swimming, biking, and running as a way to live an active lifestyle and support health and fitness resources in schools.
Impact: Results of Exercise to Achievement are pending completion of the pilot program.
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.
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.
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.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: To increase physical activity among residents of the in the High Point Seattle public housing area through improvement in the built environment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Families
Goal: The goals of the Seattle-King Healthy Homes project are: to increase knowledge of home environmental health threats and asthma self-management among households with a child who suffers from asthma; help households reduce environmental threats in the household; improve health status and reduce asthma-related medical care utilization.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: The overarching purpose of the SMSI is to improve the quality of life for all people living and working in Seattle, within the means of nature.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Goal: The goal of the FEC is to empower federal agencies to achieve cost-effective, environmentally responsible electronics management throughout the product life cycle. This goal will be achieved in part by:
- Promoting ENERGY STAR® features.
- Extending the life span of equipment.
- Increasing the recovery rate and expanding the recycling infrastructure for electronics.
- Utilizing the concept of supply and demand to promote environmentally preferable electronic equipment.
- Reducing the volume and toxicity of electronic equipment waste.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity
Goal: The goals of this organization are to promote the rights and interests of pedestrians and to encourage walking.