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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.

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Direct Instruction

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to maximize learning for all students.

DO-IT (Disabilities Opportunities Internetworking Technology) Scholars Program (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: The goal of the DO-IT Scholars Program is to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. Its mission is to promote the use of computing and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment.

Door-to-Door Van Service for Outpatient Services (Aliquippa, PA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Older Adults

Goal: To increase attendance rates and decrease transportation-related barriers to outpatient PT clinic patients.

Impact: When patients were offered a van service, attendance rates increased at the physical therapy clinic.

Dotwell for a Healthy Neighborhood (Dorchester, MA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Urban

Goal: The mission of DotWell is to guarantee high-quality clinical and community services across both sites—addressing health disparities, meeting the complex needs of a changing Dorchester community, and building social capital in and across neighborhoods.

Dramatic Health Education Project: STDs/HIV (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: The Coterie exists to provide professional classic and contemporary theater, which challenges the audience and artist alike, and to provide educational, dramatic outreach programs in the community. The Coterie seeks to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations. The objectives of DHEP are to improve knowledge regarding HIV and STDs and reduce the intentions of teenagers to practice high-risk behavior. DHEP also continues to refine the culturally-specific dramatic workshops and ensure story lines are relevant to teenagers.

Impact: After watching this program, over 75% of students report that they would be less likely to practice high-risk sexual behavior.

DTaP Drop-off Quality Improvement Project (Wilson County, KS)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of this program was to increase full DTaP series vaccination in Wilson County, Kansas.

Impact: Immunization completion rates increased from 70% to 82% after implementation.

DUI Awareness for Teens (Hartford, CT)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to decrease alcohol-related automobile accidents during the prom season by making alcohol-awareness presentations to high school students.

Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Exception to Policy (Iowa)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Exception to Policy program is to increase the amount of Medicaid-enrolled children who receive oral screenings and fluoride varnish applications.

Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) (Washington)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: ECEAP is a community-based, family-focused, comprehensive, pre-kindergarten program designed to help children and their families who are in poverty. The program focuses on helping three- and four-year-olds prepare for and succeed in school while helping their parents progress toward self-sufficiency.

EARN (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Adults, Families

Goal: EARN's mission is to empower low-wage workers to build assets in order to create long-term financial stability.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.