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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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Design for the Environment (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of DfE is to facilitate the identification, adoption and innovation of clean products, processes, technologies, and management systems.

Detroit's Asthma Education Project (Detroit, MI)

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.

Diabetes Patient Education in a Mexican-American Community (Starr County, TX)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this promising practice was to provide Mexican-Americans with the knowledge, skills, and support to improve general health measures and manage their diabetes.

Diamond Youth Shelter (San Francisco, CA)

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

Goal: To provide emergency shelter to homeless or runaway youth aged 12 to 17.

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.

Doors to Discovery (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The Doors to Discovery curriculum builds a foundation for literacy by focusing on children's vocabulary and expressive and receptive language skills.

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.

Downtown College Prep (San Jose, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens

Goal: Downtown Colled Prep's mission is to prepare underachieving students—who will be the first in their families to go to college—to thrive at four-year universities.

Drive Clean Across Texas (Texas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this program is to inspire changes in driving behavior that will help clean up the air in Texas.

Driving Decisions Workbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Public Safety, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the Driving Decisions Workbook is to increase self-awareness of driving skills in older adults.

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.