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 / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of Healthy Buddies is to increase health knowledge, health behaviors, and health attitudes in children in elementary school.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of Hip-Hop to Health Jr is to reduce gains in BMI in preschool minority children.
Home-Delivered Meals Postdischarge From Heart Failure Hospitalization (GOURMET-HF) (Columbia University Medical Center, the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System, and the University of Michigan Health System)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults
Goal: The goals of GOURMET-HF are to assess the safety of the intervention, including effects on cardiac biomarkers and rehospitalization burden.
Impact: Home-delivered DASH/SRD after HF hospitalization appear safe in selected patients and had favorable effects on HF clinical status and 30-day readmissions. The GOURMET-HF pilot study suggests that postdischarge nutritional support has the potential to improve HF symptoms and reduce readmissions
Huesos Fuertes, Familia Saludable (Strong Bones, Healthy Family): California Bone Health Campaign (California)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Women, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of the CBHC is to increase the consumption of 1% (low-fat) milk in order to prevent osteoporosis among low-income Latino mothers.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Women
Goal: The Illinois WISEWOMAN program (IWP) aims to lower heart disease and other chronic disease risk factors through screening and lifestyle classes for women in high-risk populations in service counties throughout Illinois.
Impact: The Illinois WISEWOMAN Program addresses the disproportionate risk of cardiovascular disease among disadvantaged, low-income women. Participation in the program has been shown to improve dietary, physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families
Goal: To decrease saturated fat consumption and thus reduce coronary heart disease risk factors in young children.
Impact: STRIP's intervention of diet counseling that began at a child's infancy favorably impacted the child's diet through childhood up to ages 8 or 10, but the goal of 2:1 unsaturated-saturated fatty acid ratio in a child's diet was not met for either intervention or control group.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens
Goal: Given the increased prevalence among youth of obesity and Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in the last 25 years, the goal of Kids N Fitness is to reduce risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome in overweight youth through a family-oriented lifestyle intervention.
Impact: These positive health outcomes indicate that a family-centered lifestyle intervention can improve metabolic health among youth.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families
Goal: MYOC aims to improve clinical practice, care, and outcome regarding children's weight.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Women, Families
Goal: To increase daily fruits and vegetables servings by half in women served by WIC participants with the long term goal of reducing risk of cancer.
Impact: The Maryland WIC 5-A-Day Program shows that while multi-faceted community based interventions can effectively promote and sustain dietary change among low-income populations in order to reduce the risk of cancer, many obstacles remain in implementing such programs.
Meal Delivery Programs Reduce the Use of Costly Health Care in Dually Eligible Medicare And Medicaid Beneficiaries (Massachusetts)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: In this study, it was sought to examine whether home delivery of medically tailored meals or non-tailored food reduces the use of selected health care services and medical spending among Commonwealth Care Alliance members. Because there is knowingly an association between food insecurity and emergency room visits, it was hypothesized that the medically tailored meals would cause a reduction in ER visits and other costly healthcare services and expenditures.
Impact: Researchers estimate monthly net savings of $220 per participant for medically tailored meals and $10 per participant for the non-tailored food program. This study suggests that vulnerable patients, in this case, the dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare, can benefit from meal delivery programs.