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 / Physical Activity, Children, Rural
Goal: The goal of the Winning With Wellness (WWW) project is to promote physical activity and healthier eating habits in order to reduce and prevent childhood obesity.
Impact: School wellness programs that are acceptable to teachers and utilize some already existing resources can create impact for rural youth by improving nutrition offerings in school and increasing physical activity during the school day.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve diabetes care in Wisconsin.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Adults, Women, Urban
Goal: The goal of the WILLOW intervention is to provide women living with HIV/AIDS with the skills and education needed to support safer sexual decisions.
Impact: The WILLOW program succeeded in reducing the number of reported episodes of unprotected vaginal intercourse, increasing the use of condoms and condom self-efficacy, decreasing the incidence of bacterial infections (chlamydia and gonorrhea), and improving HIV knowledge.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Women's Health, Women, Rural
Goal: Women to Women aims to provide social support for chronically ill rural women to positively affect social support, self-esteem, empowerment, self-efficacy in order to decrease stress, depression, and loneliness to improve one’s adaptation to living with a chronic disease.
The overall goal of WTW is to use technology to enhance the potential for rural women to more successfully adapt to their chronic illnesses through computer-based support and education research by providing support groups and health education via the Internet.
Impact: The WTW project shows that computer-based interventions can result in improved self-esteem, social support, and empowerment among rural women with chronic illness.
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, Environmental Health / Air
Goal: The goal of a wood stove changeout campaign is to reduce the usage of inefficient wood stoves in order to improve air quality.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: To decrease total and saturated fat intake, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and body weight.
Impact: The dietitian-delivered intervention effectively improved the care of patients with hyperlipidemia.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goals of this program are three-fold: first, to remove unwanted improperly stored guns from homes; second, to educate the community about the increased risk of gun-related injuries in the home and the importance of safe gun storage; and third, to identify individuals possessing improperly stored guns at home and provide them with safety information and alternatives.
Impact: This program shows a strong collaboration between health care providers and public safety offices and showcases a low-cost means of removing unwanted firearms from the community. Additionally, most participants felt their homes were safer after turning in their firearm(s).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults, Men
Goal: The goal of this exercise program was to reduce the incidence of diseases related to lifestyle, such as cerebrovascular diseases and ischemic heart diseases, and to preserve and promote workers' health.
Impact: The exercise program proved to be effective in increasing adaptive walking speed and in lowering waist to hip ratio.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: The goal of the WorkWell Intiative is to recognize and support local employers in Thurston County, WA who make a commitment to address workforce health issues.