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.
Addressing the Social Determinants of Health through the Alameda County, California, Place Matters Policy Initiative (Alameda County, CA)
Filed under Good Idea, Health, Urban
The goal of the Place Matters initiative is to improve the health of participating communities by “addressing social conditions that lead to poor health” through “identifying the complex root causes of health disparities and defining strategies to address them.”
AC Place Matters has identified 10 best practices that could help other programs address social determinants of health: find and foster strong leadership, dedicate staff resources to the work, engage staff from across the local health department, contribute to building grassroots power, address root causes, partner with community organizations and leaders, partner with government institutions across sectors, work reactively and proactively, build capacity, and use tools that ensure a focus on health equity.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Urban
The goal of this program is to reduce food waste in order to achieve the ultimate Alameda County goal of a 75% landfill diversion rate by the year 2010.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
The program’s goal is to provide specialized, remedial education and intensive vocational training to moderate risk youth committed to Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families, Rural
The BEE Program seeks to strengthen parents' abilities to provide the physical and emotional support necessary for children's healthy growth and development by giving them otherwise unavailable access to parenting and early childhood education.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation (CCWF) mission is for every child and adolescent to be supported in positive development by caregivers and professionals within loving, non-violent families and peaceful communities. Through parent groups and educational workshops we strive to promote a sense of community and foster empathy.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
The goal of this program is to reduce motor vehicle injuries and fatalities among children in Maricopa County.
Community-based Exposure Study and Development of a Community-First Communication Model (San Francisco)
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Rural
The goal of this study was to address the health effects of PFOA pollution, with a strong desire to implement a community-driven communication strategy to communicate the study results.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The objective of this article is to describe Project Restoration's approach to cross-sector collaboration with a shared population of high utilizing community members, describe the process and outcomes of the collaboration, provide strategies to mitigate challenges that arise during collaboration and offer insights to inform similar initiatives in communities nationwide.
Hospitals across the region are assessing ways to establish a centralized infrastructure to collaboratively address the complexities of individual cases, as well as a regional council to explore process improvements to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Rural
The goal of the program is to intervene in the lives of high-school dropouts and provide them with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of Focus on Youth is to teach youth the skills and knowledge they need to protect themselves from HIV and other STDs.
The Focus on Youth intervention increased self-reported condom use and positively affected perceptions six months after the end of the program.