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, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to help all students achieve academic success at the highest levels.
Impact: Results suggest that students in the Success for All schools were achieving at significantly higher levels on three of the four reading outcomes as measured by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT-R).
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer
Goal: The goal of this campaign was to educate park visitors about the need to protect themselves from the damaging rays of the sun and how best to prevent skin cancer.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce syphilis prevalence in the United States and eliminate the syphilis health disparity.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Teens, Women, Rural
Goal: The goal of the study was to address the special psychosocial needs of adolescents and increase contraception use, equip adolescents with the education needed to make responsible decisions related to family planning matters, and decrease unintended pregnancies.
Impact: After a one-year follow-up, teens were less likely to be pregnant. Intermediate findings at six months showed that teens in the experimental group were more likely to continue using a birth control method and less likely to experience difficulty in dealing with contraceptive-related problems.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to educate students about alcohol and to prevent alcohol abuse.
Impact: Evaluations showed significant gains in alcohol-related knowledge, significantly better attitudes toward drinking and driving, and reductions in alcohol consumption.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
Goal: The program aims to develop healthy behaviors, life skills, and a sense of purpose in order to prevent problem behaviors.
Impact: Studies have shown that adolescents in the Teen Outreach Program are at 52% lower risk of school suspension, 60% lower risk of course failure, and 53% lower risk of teenage pregnancy.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation
Goal: The State of Arizona's original interest in telecommuting arose out of the search for solutions to common issues facing many areas in the United States: traffic congestion, air pollution, and energy consumption. However, Arizona has found that telecommuting is a powerful management tool that increases employee productivity while reducing the cost of employee turnover.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children
Goal: The purpose of this project is to link Florida’s Title V program (CMS) and local Community Health Centers to:
- Reach and identify uninsured children with special health care needs in Florida and enroll them in insurance
- Focus on underserved communities that traditionally have faced numerous barriers to care, particularly those in the black and Hispanic communities, and children living in rural areas
- Use telemedicine to facilitate enrollment in CMS, care coordination, and access to specialty care
- Work with trusted community elders -- grandmothers -- as lay health partners to facilitate health-related outreach and support to children with special health care needs and their families.
In short, the project seeks to build a sustainable medical home for children with special health care needs in the safety net.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: Baylor Scott & White started TelePsych because many of its hospitals do not have any psychologists or psychiatrists on staff. The Hillcrest hospital in particular has seen an increase in patients needing acute mental health care. Its location next to the highway and the dearth of other trauma centers means that the hospital receives 1-2 patients per day with acute mental health needs. Hillcrest has licensed medical social workers in the Emergency Department but struggled without an actual psychologist or psychiatrist available. Their goal in implementing TelePsych was to move mental health patients through the continuum of care efficiently and with empathy.
Impact: The hospital staff at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest has been very impressed with the implementation and ease of use of the TelePsych process and system. Patient satisfaction has increased and staff are able to move patients through the next level of care more efficiently.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Urban
Goal: One of the primary goals of Bronx Center is to ensure that area residents and businesses gain access to as many jobs, both construction and permanent, and contracting opportunities as possible. Other goals include renovating the Bronx Borough Courthouse and transforming it into The Bronx Planning Center and improving education, housing, and the economic state of the community.