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 / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the Community AIDS Prevention Program is to educate inner city Latino adolescents about how to reduce risk related to HIV/AIDS, and to encourage sexually active teens to use condoms.
This program shows that prevention programs targeting HIV/AIDS risk-reduction strategies and condom use encouragement can delay male initiation of sexual intercourse, reduce females' number of sexual partners, and increase likelihood of possessing a condom among sexually active youth.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban
The goal of SmartTrips is to reduce drive-alone trips and increase biking, walking, and public transit in targeted areas of the city.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
The long-term goals of the program are to arrest the development of teen antisocial behaviors and drug experimentation. Intermediate goals are to improve parents' family management and communication skills.
Parents had improved feelings toward their children and were less likely to react negatively to their children's behavior and less likely to take a "lax" approach to their children after participating in the program. They also showed improvements in the skill areas of tracking and reinforcing behavior, setting expectations and defining problems, and remaining calm in stressful situations. Antisocial behaviors in their children decreased significantly, measures of child adjustment showed improvement, and total problem behavior decreased. Furthermore, the PFS intervention resulted in significantly less use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women
The goal of this program is to improve the individual oral hygiene practices of the prenatal women in order to reduce the number of low birth weight, pre-term infants born to this population.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
The program’s mission is to meet community nutrition needs through programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, the homebound critically ill, and seniors.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
The goal of this program is to decrease alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and to decrease violence and weapons-carrying among high school students.
At 2-year follow-up, students in Project TND schools were about half as likely to use tobacco when compared with students in control schools. Students in Project TND schools were about one-fifth as likely to use hard drugs relative to similar students in control schools.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Adults, Urban
The goal of Project Ujima is to stop the cycle of violent crimes by reducing the number of repeat victims of violence.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of this program is to extend lifesaving prevention programs and screening services across a variety of cultures by giving communities the materials and plans to implement an effective intervention while allowing them to execute these plans in a manner and at a pace that resonates with their own culture and community.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
The PHLAME Study had four primary goals: (1) Increase physical activity to 30 minutes each day; (2) Reduce percent calories from fat to less than 30%; (3) Increase servings of fruits and vegetables to at least 5 per day; and (4) Improve energy balance and normalize body fat.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the Promoting Heart Health in Women Municipal Workers program is to improve women’s knowledge of and perceived susceptibility to heart disease.