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 / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: This program is designed to reduce students' intentions to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.
Impact: Studies show that the program significantly reduces the proportion of students with intentions to drink alcohol and smoke. Participants also showed significantly increased use of personal and social skills, increased engagement in prosocial behaviors, and decreased engagement in inappropriate social behaviors.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of the TGFV program is to help students learn the skills they need to get along peacefully with others and avoid violence.
Impact: Too Good programs empower children with the social-emotional learning and substance abuse prevention skills they need to lead happy and healthy lives.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Transportation, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of Travel Blending® Program is to reduce personal vehicle use.
Impact: The Travel Blending program reduced car trips, car kilometers, and hours spend in the car.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Teens
Goal: The goal of the TFCO program is to decrease problem behavior and to increase developmentally appropriate normative and prosocial behavior in children and adolescents who are in need of out-of-home placement.
Impact: When compared with the control group, TFCO youths spent 60% fewer days in incarceration, had significantly fewer subsequent arrests, and had significantly less hard-drug use.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of tribal motor vehicle injury prevention programs is to reduce disparities in rates of motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths.
Impact: Projects to increase motor vehicle safety on tribal reservations increased seat belt use among drivers, increased use of child safety seats, and decreased motor vehicle crashes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families
Goal: Triple P aims to prevent maltreatment and behavioral, emotional and developmental problems in children by strenghtening the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents.
Impact: The program found a 25-35% reduction in child maltreatment, child maltreatment related hospitalizations and injuries, and foster home placements of children for young children at two-year followup of the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families
Goal: Triple P aims to enhance the knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents to prevent behavioral, emotional, and developmental problems in children and prevent child maltreatment.
Impact: Triple P increased confidence in parenting ability and reduced the incidence of verified maltreatment among participants in the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the TACOS program was to use an environmental intervention to increase the availability and consumption of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.
Impact: The TACOS program successfully increased both the availability and sale of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends home visits to increase vaccination rates in children and adults. The CPSTF notes, however, that economic evidence shows home visits can be resource-intensive and costly relative to other options.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends interventions that reduce client out-of-pocket costs used alone or combined with additional interventions to increase vaccination rates among people of all ages in a range of settings and populations. This includes interventions for individual clinical settings, statewide programs, or national efforts.