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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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Man Therapy (Colorado)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Men

Goal: The goal of Man Therapy is to change social norms regarding men's mental health and to encourage men to seek care.

Impact: Almost 60,000 "18-Point Head Inspections" or self-assessments were completed, and 19,586 people accessed the crisis information. Of the 7,933 visitors to the site surveyed, 51% agreed or strongly agreed they were more likely to seek help after visiting the site.

Marin County Safe Routes to Schools (Marin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Safe Routes to School program is to improve safety and encourage more children to safely walk and bicycle to school. In addition, the programs work toward reducing traffic congestion and improving health and the environment.

Marion County Indigent Care Program (Marion County, FL)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve health care accessibility and availability for low income, uninsured and underinsured residents of Marion County.

Market Bucks (Minneapolis, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: The goal of the Market Bucks program is to encourage shopping at farmers' markets and healthier eating.

Impact: Market Bucks have successfully increased the amount of EBT purchases made at farmers markets and increased fruit and vegetable consumption among participants.

Market Makeovers/Corner Store Conversions (South Los Angeles)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce childhood obesity and diabetes by increasing access to nutritious food for children and families.

Maryland's Tomorrow (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens

Goal: Two of the goals for the Maryland's Tomorrow program are for all seniors to pass Maryland's state tests and graduate, and for all participating students to improve their grade point averages.

Mass in Motion (Massachusetts)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults

Goal: Mass in Motion aims to reduce obesity and promote healthy eating and physical activity through school and workplace policy changes, grants for communities, and an educational website.

Massachusetts Click It or Ticket Campaign (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The Click It or Ticket Campaign Enhancement and Evaluation project's goals were to:

-Increase safety belt use in Massachusetts; and
-Evaluate the impact of adding educational activities to standard enforcement mobilization waves.

Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation & Prevention Program is to improve public health in the Commonwealth by reducing death and disability from tobacco use.

MatchBridge (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of MatchBridge is to diversify the future's workforce and reduce poverty by helping youth develop the skills that they need to secure employment.

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.