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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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Project Active (Dallas, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults

Goal: The goal of Project Achieve is to increase physical activity and cardiorespiratory health among sedentary adults.

Project Angel Heart (Colorado)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity

Goal: Project Angel Heart improves health and well-being for people with life-threatening illnesses by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals and promoting the power of food as medicine.

Impact: Survey data from Project Angel Heart clients show that this program has a positive impact on clients. Of clients surveyed in 2018: 82% report less stress, 69% report improved adherence to health care plans, 72% report improved quality of life, and 72% report improved ability to afford basic needs.

Project CAFE (Los Angeles)

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

Goal: The goal of Project CAFE is to identify ways to increase access and availability of healthy foods in Los Angeles neighborhoods in order to decrease obesity and diabetes.

Project COFFEE (Co-Operative Federation for Educational Experiences) (Oxford, MA)

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

Goal: The goal of the program is to prevent school dropout by providing services addressing students' academic, social, emotional, and occupational needs.

Project CRAFT

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens

Goal: Project CRAFT is designed to improve educational levels, teach vocational skills and reduce recidivism among adjudicated youth, while addressing the home building industry's need for entry level workers.

Project DIRECT (Raleigh, NC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Project DIRECT was to reduce the burden of diabetes and its impact on the African-American community through partnerships with the community in Raleigh, NC.

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) (New Mexico)

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

Goal: The mission of Project ECHO is to develop the capacity to safely and
effectively treat chronic, common, and complex diseases in rural and
underserved areas, and to monitor outcomes of this treatment.

Project Making a Group and Individual Difference (MAGIC) (Elko, NV)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Rural

Goal: The goal of Project MAGIC is to help juvenile offenders leave the criminal justice system.

Project QUEST (San Antonio, TX)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education, Adults, Urban

Goal: Project QUEST strengthens the economy and transforms lives by preparing individuals for in-demand, living wage careers.

Project Search (Cincinnati)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Teens, Adults

Goal: Project Search aims to engage an underutilized workforce of individuals with significant disabilities while addressing employer human resource needs that ultimately benefits individuals, organizations, and the 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.