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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.

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Mailed Psychoeducational Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Screening (England)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve colorectal cancer screening rates among older adults.

Impact: Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher colorectal cancer screening attendance, as well as having more positive attitudes about screening and placing a higher priority on screening.

Career Skills Mentoring Program (Palm Beach and Martin, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to provide at-risk youth with mentorship and employment skills.

Quality Counts (Palm Beach)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Urban

Goal: 1. To produce positive outcomes for children.
2. To provide consumer education to help parents recognize, expect and seek out quality in a childcare setting and to articulate the standards for quality to childcare providers and parents.
3. To define, advocate for and obtain the resources necessary to encourage, support and promote quality early care and education.

Think Big Clubs - Teen Mentoring (Palm Beach and Martin, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of the program is to match high school students to elementary school students in a mentoring relationship.

Less Talk and More Action -- Protecting Seniors Against West Nile Virus (Yavapai, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Older Adults

Goal: This program aims to protect seniors against West Nile virus exposure.

West Nile Virus - Metropolitan Atlanta Surveillance Task Force (Atlanta, GA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to create a regional approach to emerging infection based on public education, environmental monitoring, and disease surveillance.

West Nile Virus Surveillance and Control Program (Sedgwick County, KS)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The primary goal of the program is to protect the public from WNV by early detection of WNV and elimination of mosquitoes.

Activate West Michigan Coalition (Grand Rapids, MI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Activate West Michigan coalition is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income individuals.

Florida Healthy Kids (Florida)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children

Goal: The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation arranges health care coverage for Florida's uninsured children. They develop and implement solutions, making quality a priority at every step in the process. They strive to instill a sense of security among the families of those they serve.

Florida Youth ChalleNGe Academy (Florida)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Rural

Goal: The goal of the program is to intervene in the lives of high-school dropouts and provide them with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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