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 Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: To achieve an improved physical environment, sense of community, and quality of life for members, residents and patrons of the Fenway Cultural District in Boston, Massachusetts.
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 Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent further criminal activity and incarceration among juvenile delinquents.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore is to influence the final version of Baltimore’s new zoning code by informing stakeholders and decision-makers about the new zoning code’s potential to create healthy communities and decrease health disparities, with an emphasis on preventing obesity and crime.
Impact: Zoning for a Healthy Baltimore is an HIA of the Baltimore zoning code rewrite in order to maximize the potential to create healthier communities. Since publication, Baltimore has revised its zoning code to incorporate dispersal standards and other strategies related to placement of alcohol outlets.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of this promising practice is to increase physical activity in a diverse older adult population.
Impact: Participants in the Active Choices program showed significant increases in physical activity and a greater satisfaction with their body appearance and function. Participants of the program also showed decreases in their BMI.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Families
Goal: To increase utilization of asthma management plans and improve quality of life while reducing environmental triggers of asthma in the household and hospitalizations due to asthma among children.
Impact: Short-term community-based asthma outreach workers for children can be effective in enhancing self-management capabilities, improving the quality of life, increasing the use of asthma management plans, and helping families reduce asthma triggers at home.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children
Goal: The goal of the Breathmobile® program is to help children control their asthma by providing accessible care at local school sites.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The mission of the Metro Public Health Department is to protect and improve the health and well-being of all people in Metropolitan Nashville.
Impact: Metro Public Health Department of Nashville/Davidson County has implemented department-wide strategies to address existing health inequities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Families, Urban
Goal: The program works to counsel and assist domestic violence victims by providing them with information about available resources and services, as well as their legal and other options. They also offer medical assistance and emergency shelter, including transportation to the shelter. Through legal advocacy and education, DVERT teams work to reduce domestic violence in Santa Barbara County.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Women
Goal: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) is a community-based intervention program to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their infants in Klamath County, Oregon.
Impact: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) educates pregnant women about dental hygiene to prevent dental infection in their children. Ninety-three percent of all participating infants were 100% cavity-free on their second birthday.