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 / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of Connect is to increase relationship communication and safer sex practices among couples.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve classroom management in order to provide a better learning environment that fosters academic success.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The goals of this promising practice were to identify the transportation-disadvantaged population that lacks nonemergency medical care because of low access to transportation; determine the medical conditions that this population experiences and describe other characteristics of these individuals, including geography; estimate the cost of providing the transportation necessary for this population to obtain medical transportation according to various transportation service needs and trip modes; estimate the healthcare costs and benefits that would result if these individuals obtained transportation to non-emergency medical care for key healthcare conditions prevalent for this population; and compare the relative costs (from transportation and routine healthcare) and benefits (such as improved quality of life and better managed care, leading to less emergency care) to determine the cost-effectiveness of providing transportation for selected conditions.
Impact: These results show that adding relatively small transportation costs do not make a disease-specific, otherwise cost-effective environment non-cost-effective. Providing increased access to non-emergency medical care does improve quality of life and saves money per patient.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families
Goal: Cradle Kansas City only has one goal, to close the health equity gap. By doing this, they will impact premature birth and infant and maternal mortality. They accomplish this through partnerships medical systems, resident-built strategies, and clear messaging that is aimed at systemic change.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Goal: The goal of the Critical Time Intervention is to prevent homelessness among people with severe mental illness.
Impact: Evaluations of this program have found sizable reductions (24-67%) in average number of nights spent homeless over the 18-month follow-up period and more than a 60% reduction in likelihood of being homeless in the final weeks of the 18-month follow-up. Cost offsets and savings have been shown.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The overall goal of d-up! is to increase the number of black MSM who use a condom when they have sex.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of the D.C. Schoolyard Greening program is to increase and improve schoolyard green spaces in order to promote ecological literacy and environmental stewardship among students, teachers, parents and the community.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: The objectives of the program were to educate students, parents, and school staff about asthma management and to control exposure to factors that trigger asthma attacks.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Sojourner Health Clinic is to pick up where the current medical system leaves off by providing free acute and ongoing healthcare to patients who do not have access--or are reluctant to access—traditional routes to a doctor or medicine.
Impact: During 2012, the Sojourner Health Clinic managed to increase the number of diabetic patients with A1C levels below 9 percent from 15% to 83%, reducing the average blood glucose level of patients and giving them a better sense of control over their diabetes.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Rural
Goal: Please define your project/intervention goals:
The goals of this project are:
-to promote individual control of diabetes.
-to help patients become partners with their healthcare providers in the care of their disease.
-to help diabetes patients realize that small continous changes do make big differences.