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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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Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Sports Program (Milwaukee, WI)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children

Goal: Program objectives are to:

- Plan and conduct five sets of interactive tobacco prevention mini-sessions for youth and parents in multiple school-linked settings;
- Plan and implement one annual media advocacy event coordinated with the national Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Plan and conduct tobacco educational outreach and implementation guidance for coaches and athletic staff. Teen Presenters deliver tobacco prevention mini-sessions to younger children, grades 1-6.

Mineral Belt Trail (Leadville, CO)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of the Mineral Belt Trail is to provide safe access throughout Leadville, CO to schools, historic areas, and natural landscapes.

Minority AIDS Project (Los Angeles, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Minority AIDS Project's mission is to reduce suffering and deaths due to HIV infection in the African-American and Latino communities by making HIV/AIDS education and related health services available and accessible.

Impact: The Minority AIDS Project provides services and outreach efforts to predominantly African-American and Latino individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the underserved communities of Central and South Central Los Angeles.

Mispillion River Greenway (Milford, DE)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the Mispillion River Greenway is to provide new transportation options for downtown travel and encourage reinvestment in the business district.

Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA) (Missouri)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The goal of this project is to educate citizens, health professionals, researchers, and policy makers about cancer in Missouri. Complete, timely, and high-quality data are essential for conducting research and responding to public concerns about cancer incidence in their communities.

Mobile Community CareLink (CCL) (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of Mobile CCL is to foster a higher level of client engagement and motivation in the treatment/recovery process.

Impact: As a web-based client portal to care management, Mobile CCL is enabling the integration of behavioral health treatment with primary care.

Mornings in Motion (Tennessee)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: The goal of Mornings in Motion is to incorporate high quality and structured physical activity into the school day.

Move Beyond Crisis (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Housing & Homes, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: Move Beyond Crisis is a walk-in-center that helps individuals and families find emergency housing and support services, including food vouchers, clothing, and benefits.

Move More Diabetes (Waterville, ME)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Rural

Goal: The goal of MMD is to increase physical activity among people with type 2 diabetes and improve their disease self-management skills.

National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Women, Families

Goal: The vision of the NAMC is to enable members to be effective in using their individual and collective knowledge and experience as catalysts for personal and societal changes that benefit mothers and families.

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.