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, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goals of this program are to detect school adjustment difficulties, prevent social and emotional problems, and enhance learning skills of children in kindergarten through third grade.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the PEARLS program is to provide home-based counseling in order to manage and treat depression among older adults.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: Programa de Manejo Personal de la Diabetes is a group workshop that educates Latino individuals with type 2 diabetes on techniques to help them manage their disease and live more active lives.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults
Goal: The goal of Project Achieve is to increase physical activity and cardiorespiratory health among sedentary adults.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: The goal of Project ALIVE is to encourage healthy eating and physical activity.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity
Goal: Project Angel Heart improves health and well-being for people with life-threatening illnesses by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals and promoting the power of food as medicine.
Impact: Survey data from Project Angel Heart clients show that this program has a positive impact on clients. Of clients surveyed in 2018: 82% report less stress, 69% report improved adherence to health care plans, 72% report improved quality of life, and 72% report improved ability to afford basic needs.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Rural
Goal: The mission of Project ECHO is to develop the capacity to safely and
effectively treat chronic, common, and complex diseases in rural and
underserved areas, and to monitor outcomes of this treatment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce or stop smoking among adolescents.
Impact: At 3-month follow-up, 17% of youths in the treatment conditions reported having quit smoking for at least 30 days, compared with only 8% of those teens in the control condition. These positive effects were also demonstrated when moved from a clinic setting to the classroom, as students in the program condition experienced a greater reduction in weekly smoking and monthly smoking, at 6-and-12-month follow-ups.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of Project Ujima is to stop the cycle of violent crimes by reducing the number of repeat victims of violence.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve treatment outcomes for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Impact: PE Therapy is considered by expert consensus the treatment of choice for PTSD clients whose prominent symptoms include intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and trauma-related fear and avoidance. One study demonstrated that the treatment group showed significant improvement in PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms at posttest, and these treatment effects were maintained at 6-month follow-up.