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 / Physical Activity, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of Wheeling Walks is to increase walking among Wheeling, WV residents aged 50-65 years.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce barriers to exercise and increase the likelihood that people will engage in physical activity.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Women
Goal: The goal of the Women's Lifestyle Heart Trial is to reduce cardiovascular risk factors among postmenopausal women with coronary heart disease through lifestyle changes.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: WomenVenture helps women of all ages, cultures, races and income levels achieve economic success.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Children, Teens
Goal: The objective of this program is for students to complete high school and be prepared to enter postsecondary education or employment.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Urban
Goal: The Diabetes Support Group provides ongoing education and support to those living with, at risk for, or affected by diabetes in the community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: The overall objective of the project was to identify and provide additional support and services to those youth, ages 14-21 enrolled in WIA-supported youth programs with mental health care needs.
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.
Environmental Improvements Brought by the Legal Interventions in the Homes of Poorly Controlled Inner-City Adult Asthmatic Patients (New York City, New York)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban
Goal: The goal is to use a medical-legal collaborative intervention to force landlords into maintaining healthy living conditions for residents with poorly controlled asthma.
Impact: This proof-of concept study exhibits that medical-legal collaboration can significantly impact the control of inner-city asthmatics by improving their domestic environment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Community AIDS Prevention Program is to educate inner city Latino adolescents about how to reduce risk related to HIV/AIDS, and to encourage sexually active teens to use condoms.
Impact: This program shows that prevention programs targeting HIV/AIDS risk-reduction strategies and condom use encouragement can delay male initiation of sexual intercourse, reduce females' number of sexual partners, and increase likelihood of possessing a condom among sexually active youth.