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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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Bay Area SCORES (Bay Area, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Bay Area SCORES program is to reduce obesity, increase physical fitness, and manage cardiovascular health-related risks while improving academic performance in children between the ages of 6 and 12 through soccer, creative expression, service learning, “hip hop for health,” and creative writing.

Bay Area Transportation Justice Working Group (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Transportation Justice Working Group is to increase awareness of the relationship between transportation and health.

Black Women’s Media Project (Berkeley)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To address the detrimental impact of alcohol on women in the African American community.

Bon Secours Community Works "Re-Entry Success" Program (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention

Goal: The goal of the program is to empower individuals to look to themselves to support society after life in prison.

Impact: The program helps people adjust to life after prison.

Breathmobile® (San Bernardino, CA)

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

Goal: The goal of the Breathmobile® program is to help children control their asthma by providing accessible care at local school sites.

Cancer Screening Office Systems (Cancer SOS) (Hillsborough County, FL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Cancer SOS provider education program is to increase cancer screening in primary care settings serving disadvantaged populations.

Care-A-Van Mobile Medical Clinic (Kern County, CA)

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

Goal: The goal of Care-A-Van is to provide access to medical care for uninsured and impoverished working families.

CareMore: Nonemergency Medical Transport

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

Goal: To provide transportation and improve patient satisfaction for nonemergency medical services.

Impact: CareMore's NEMT was so successful in the first 3 months, the programs were expanded in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Virginia.

Casual Carpool (San Francisco & Alameda Co, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of Casual Carpool is to match commuters in order to reduce traffic congestion and to save money for both drivers and passengers by avoiding public transit fees and bridge tolls.

CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: Increase Access to Cessation Services (Santa Clara County, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal is to increase cessation within communities with the highest tobacco use rates through culturally appropriate services provided through community-based organization partners.

Impact: The intervention has resulted in a 39% quit success rate.

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.