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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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Burlington Legacy Project (Burlington, VT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of this program is to create a strategy for a sustainable Burlington.

California Farm to School Program (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: The goal of California Farm to School is to teach students about the path that food takes from the farm to their forks while instilling healthy eating habits.

California's Lifeline Auto Insurance Program (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Poverty, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide affordable auto insurance to low-income drivers in California.

Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) (Canada)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women

Goal: The goal of the Canada Prenatal Nutrition program is to improve birth outcomes by increasing access to prenatal care.

CancerCare (New York, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of CancerCare is to provide free support services to anyone affected by cancer.

Car Heaven (Canada)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Adults

Goal: The Car Heaven program aims to help Canadians reduce their personal impact on the environment by providing car retirement services for their old, higher-polluting vehicles.

Career Academy

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to foster academic success among at-risk students.

Career Beginnings

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to enhance the life options of disadvantaged, urban high school students.

Cash Back (New York )

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Income, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: The Cash Back initiative aims to help low-income residents take advantage of tax credits by offering free tax preparation services.

Caught in the Crossfire (Oakland, CA)

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

Goal: A goal of the program is to reduce high-risk youth involvement in the criminal justice system by intervening immediately or very soon after youth are violently injured.

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.

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