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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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Drug Treatment Choice Program (Washington, DC)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban

Goal: It is the mission of the Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration (APRA) to promote and enforce the highest quality regulatory standards for delivering services related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) addictions; to prevent ATOD addictions; and to identify, treat and rehabilitate persons who are addicted giving priority to residents of the District of Columbia.

Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: ECEAP is a community-based, family-focused, comprehensive, pre-kindergarten program designed to help children and their families who are in poverty. The program focuses on helping three- and four-year-olds prepare for and succeed in school while helping their parents progress toward self-sufficiency.

Engaging Men and Boys of Color to Improve Mental Wellbeing (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Men and Boys is a national initiative to transform community conditions that influence mental wellbeing. The Prevention Institute works with 13 communities across the U.S. to shift policies, practices, and norms to create greater opportunities for health and resilience, with particular focus on veterans and men and boys of color.

Family Matters (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent tobacco and alcohol abuse among adolescents.

FAmily-CEntered (FACE) Advance Care Planning (Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of FACE-ACP is to give adolescents and adults living with a serious medical condition a voice by facilitating conversations between patients and their caregivers so they can achieve their goals and match medical treatment to their goals.

Federal Electronics Challenge (USA)

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.

Feet First (Seattle, WA)

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.

Fresh Stop Project (Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is for communities to enjoy and have access to affordable fresh food year-round.

Impact: Fresh Stops has improved access to wholesome, local foods for urban residents. In addition, Fresh Stops has engaged community members in the food justice movement and has promoted the adoption of healthy lifestyle changes.

Great Allegheny Passage (Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the Great Allegheny Passage is to provide hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and people with disabilities with a trail through the region.

Hair, Heart & Health (Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Hair, Heart & Health program embraces the notion that health education at the community level is an effective intervention strategy for preventable diseases like CHD, stroke and kidney disease.

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.