Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults

Goal: The goal of FAST is to improve patients' independence and quality of life.

Impact: Studies have shown that FAST-treated patients' performance on everyday living skills improved significantly compared to non-participants. They also demonstrated significant improvement in social and communication skills at 6-month follow-up.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease pregnancy in adolescent and teenage girls.

Impact: Those who participated in one or more program components were significantly less likely to experience pregnancy than nonparticipants (5.9% vs 12.3%). Those who participated in two or more program components were significantly less likely to engage in sexual intercourse without birth control than those who participated in only a single program component (8.9% vs 20.6%).

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Urban

Goal: The mission of Greater Boston Breathes Better is to help greater Boston’s citizens and visitors to breathe better.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Families

Goal: The primary goal of GGC is to reduce youth substance abuse and problem behaviors by increasing family involvement that is rewarding and enhances parent-child bonds.

Impact: Significant positive effects on increasing family involvement and interaction and reducing youth substance abuse were observed. A cost-benefit analysis estimates a $5.85 benefit for every dollar invested in the program.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To evaluate the association of a “Housing First” intervention for chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems with health care use and costs.

Impact: Total cost offsets for Housing First participants relative to controls averaged $2449 per person per month after accounting for housing program costs.

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of full-day kindergarten programs is to prepare children academically, socially, and emotionally for effective participation in the educational system.

Impact: Children who enroll in full-day kindergarten programs see improved scores on standardized tests and assigned grades than those enrolled in half-day kindergarten programs. Those enrolled in full-day programs also see increased social-emotional health.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions, Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The program is focused on reduction of pain and improvement of function for arthritis patients unable or unwilling to attend small group ASMPs, which have proven effective in changing health-related behaviors and improving health status measures.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families

Goal: Program goals include prevention of negative birth outcomes (low birth weight, substance abuse, criminal activity, child abuse, and neglect), increased parenting skills, healthy pregnancy practices, and the use of social systems.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of Healthy IDEAS is to detect and address depression through effective, evidence-based screening and health promotion education.

Impact: Studies show that after 6 months in the Healthy IDEAS program, significantly more of the participants knew how to get help for depression (93% versus 68%), reported that increasing activity helped them feel better (89% versus 72%), and reported reduced pain (45% versus 16%) than at the beginning.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Teens, Families

Goal: The mission of the Healthy Kids Express Asthma Program is to provide quality asthma care and education to children with asthma and their caretakers in a school environment to work towards goals set by Healthy People 2020 and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP).

Impact: The Healthy Kids Express Asthma Program serves approximately 600 children a year, improving inhaler technique and asthma knowledge among participants. Children enrolled in the program for two consecutive years have lower school absentee rates and hospitalizations due to asthma.