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 Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of the AIDS Insurance Continuation Program is to provide low-income Floridians living with HIV/AIDS with continuous private health insurance coverage.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The goal of Aiming High is to increase the percentage of English learners scoring at or above proficient on California Standardized tests in language arts and math by three percentage points annually.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air
Goal: The goal of the partnership is to offer the public a comprehensive air quality resource while promoting a consistent regional air quality message.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of the Al's Pals program is to teach children how to practice positive ways to express feelings, relate to others, communicate, brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and differentiate between safe and unsafe substances and situations.
Impact: Studies have shown that the program resulted in higher degrees of positive change in the intervention groups, increases in prosocial behaviors and positive coping behaviors, and decreases in antisocial and negative coping behaviors.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce alcohol misuse among adolescents.
Impact: Middle school students who receive the curriculum have increased knowledge about alcohol misuse when compared to a control group. Students who received programming in the 10th grade had significantly increased alcohol misuse prevention knowledge, decreased alcohol misuse, and increased refusal skills. During their first year of driving, students who received the curriculum were involved in fewer serious traffic or drug offenses than students in the control group.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Weather & Climate
Goal: The program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address global warming on college campuses.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Urban
Goal: The overall goals of Kid2Kid are to: enable children to become responsible, caring world citizens by assisting them to develop compassion and empathy for other children around the world; increase students' global awareness and cultural understanding, while strengthening social studies and geography content knowledge; provide support, acknowledgement, encouragement and hope for traumatized children worldwide; encourage peace in the world, promote non-violence, and initiate pro-social behavior, among all children worldwide; facilitate an on-line culture learning process, whereby participating Kid2Kid children will learn about themselves and others around the world on a deep, meaningful level; and encourage and improve Kid2Kid children's artistic and communicative skills as well as provide an outlet for emotional expression.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is to increase joint flexibility, range of motion, and muscle strength among individuals with arthritis.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: Joslin's Asian American Diabetes Initiative has a mission to enhance the quality of life and health outcomes for Asian Americans living with diabetes through research, education, outreach and culturally appropriate treatments.
Impact: Joslin's Asian Clinic provides comprehensive and culturally appropriate diabetes care for Asian Americans.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: ASSIST aims to develop a diverse group consisting of young people that will then influence their peers to defy the idea of smoking thus reducing the number of adolescent smokers and reducing its health effects.
Impact: A peer-led intervention reduced smoking among adolescents at a modest cost: the ASSIST program cost of £32 ($42 USD) (95% CI = £29.70–£33.80) per student. The incremental cost per student not smoking at 2 years was £1,500 ($1984 USD) (95% CI = £669–£9,947).