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, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Urban
Goal: BELL exists to transform the academic achievements, self-confidence, and life trajectories of children living in under-resourced, urban communities.
Impact: Students enrolled in summer courses may read more books during the summer than students not enrolled in summer courses.
Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of the paper is to introduce effective practices for building a summer learning program that reaches the neediest kids, gets kids learning, and keeps going strong.
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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Adults, Women, Families
Goal: To improve the health and well-being of Kansans by working collaboratively to promote, protect and support breastfeeding.
Impact: Investing in nursing employee support services has proven to produce a 3 to 1 ROI through greater employee retention, increased productivity, lower health care costs and decreased sick days.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Teens
Goal: The goal of the California Green Corps is to place 1,000 at-risk young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 into "green" jobs in order to stimulate the economy and provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth while improving and protecting the environment.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Nutrition & Healthy Eating, Rural
Goal: CVAN is the Kansas conduit for tons of healthy produce from the Catholic Charities Mary Martha Organization--the steward of excess highly perishable high quality foods from a huge Walmart Distribution Center in Oklahoma. As food supplies allow, CVAN distributes to the 100 square mile school district and to share with a networked family of pantries and volunteer organizations in five Kansas counties and South Coffeyville, OK. As needed, CVAN has recruited distribution volunteers in covering communities within this economically depressed region. The network family was built upon the CVAN’s supply of fresh produce, but is now blessing this area with distribution of CARES foods during the COVID crisis. Its volunteers are food warriors--winning in the fight against rural hunger.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of Caring for Kids is to provide youth impacted by a loved one's substance use with the tools they need to stay safe and build a healthy life, and to reduce the likelihood that impacted youth will abuse substances.
Impact: In 2013, more than 250 youth were impacted by Caring for Kids. 90% of youth participants showed a decreased likelihood of alcohol or other drug use, and 100% completed an action plan.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Asthma Control: Home-Based Multi-Trigger, Multicomponent Environmental Interventions (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Teens
Goal: To improve overall quality of life and productivity for children and adolescents that suffer from asthma.
Impact: Home-based multi-trigger, multi-component interventions with a combination of minor or moderate environmental remediation with an education component provide good value based on improvement in symptoms free days.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Cancer Prevention & Control, Client-Oriented Screening Interventions: Client Reminders (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Women, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the Client Reminders is to increase screening for breast cancers.
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends the use of client reminders to increase screening for breast cancers on the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness.
CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Cancer Prevention & Control, Client-Oriented Screening Interventions: Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs: Breast Cancer (USA)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Women
Goal: The goal of the interventions is to reduce client out-of-pocket costs to minimize or remove economic barriers that make it difficult for clients to access cancer screening services.
Impact: Costs can be reduced through a variety of approaches, including vouchers, reimbursements, reduction in co-pays, or adjustments in federal or state insurance coverage. Efforts to reduce client costs may be combined with client education, information about programs, or measures to reduce barriers.