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.
Increasing Age-Appropriate Immunization Rates for Children in Butler County and Surrounding Area (Butler County, KS)
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Rural
Goal: The goal of this program was to increase immunization rates in the Butler County area.
Impact: Immunization rates increased from 53.2% to 72.4% and parents reported a better understanding of the importance of timely vaccinations.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens
Goal: The goals of this program are to
- Prevent youth from becoming delinquent by focusing strengths-based, family-centered community resources and programs on "at-risk" youth and their families.
- Improve the juvenile justice and community intervention for juvenile offenders through a system of Graduated Sanctions (Intervention).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Adults
Goal: To decrease total and saturated fat intake, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and body weight.
Impact: The dietitian-delivered intervention effectively improved the care of patients with hyperlipidemia.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal is to guide students from underserved communities towards careers in healthcare, simultaneously fulfilling workforce needs.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: The goal of this program was to improve the skills and productivity of the Massachusetts workforce.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program was to reduce energy usage by 10 to 20 percent.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens, Adults
Goal: To decrease the number of children hit by motor vehicles in school zones and crosswalks.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends tenant-based housing voucher programs to improve health and health-related outcomes for adults based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness. Health-related outcomes include housing quality and security, healthcare use, and neighborhood opportunities (e.g., lower poverty level, better schools).
Children ages 12 years and younger whose households use vouchers show improvements in education, employment, and income later in life. Outcomes for adolescents vary by gender. Females 10-20 years of age whose families use tenant-based vouchers to live in lower poverty neighborhoods experience better health outcomes while males of the same age experience worse physical and mental health outcomes. Additional research is needed to better understand and address challenges faced by adolescent males.
CPSTF finds societal benefits exceed the cost of tenant-based housing voucher programs that serve families with young children who are living in public housing, provide pre-move counseling, and move families to neighborhoods with greater opportunities.
Tenant-based housing voucher programs give many people access to better housing and neighborhood opportunities, both of which are considered social determinants of health. Because these programs are designed for households with low incomes, they are expected to advance health equity.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of the program was to target the housing support needs of its members with the objective of reducing institutionalization, improving quality of life, and reducing total costs of care.
Impact: The large majority of participants surveyed indicated that their quality of life was maintained or increased during the pilot and that they were satisfied with the program.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goals of the Mental Health First Aid course are to: 1) learn to identify risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, 2) utilize evidence-based strategies to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and 3) become a resource in your community to guide people where to turn for help.
NAMI-DuPage's yearly goal is to complete 70 training courses per year.
Impact: Mental Health First Aid helps community members become aware of signs and symptoms of someone in a mental health crisis and become a resource to mental health and behavioral health programs in their community.