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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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Community Coalition: Crime Reduction Through Closing Liquor Stores in South Los Angeles (South Los Angeles)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To reduce alcohol and drug related crime and violence in South Los Angeles by closing liquor stores known to be involved in or at the center of crime, violence and illegal activity.

Flex Your Power Case Study: San Bernardino County (San Bernardino County)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: San Bernardino County’s goal in 2001 was to reduce its energy use by 10 percent.

Student Outreach for College Enrollment (Los Angeles)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens, Urban

Goal: SOURCE aims to help students from low-income families in the Los Angeles Unified School District to select and apply for college and financial aid.

Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing (Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New Y)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Children, Teens, Adults, Rural

Goal: The goal of MTO was to impact behavior and lifestyle choices by changing neighborhood environments.

Cool Schools Tree Planting and Education Program (Los Angeles)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: Cool Schools aims to reduce energy consumption, improve air quality, teach children about the environment, create greener spaces for children to learn and play, and provide career development assistance to young adults.

Crime and Safety Team (Los Angeles, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to support the creation and sustainability of safer and healthier communities. The Team aims to achieve this objective by facilitating the transfer of skills, knowledge, and resources to public housing residents, Housing Authority staff, and the greater community.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Arden Realty and next>edge (Los Angeles, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of next>edge is to maximize energy efficiency for commercial facilities.

PACE MySteps: A Web-based Behavior Change Program for Adolescent Weight Loss

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens

Goal: To facilitate behavior change among adolescents such that the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors yields weight loss and sustained weight control.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Santa Clara (Santa Clara, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of these programs was to reduce energy consumption in Santa Clara.

Charlotte REACH 2010 (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To improve three health behaviors that are risk factors for diabetes and heart disease (fruit & vegetable consumption, physical activity, and cigarette smoking) in an African American community.

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.