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.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to increase cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese American women.
Impact: The Cervical Cancer Control intervention is impactful in increasing the likelihood that women who have a history of at least one pap test receive another pap test in the future.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
Goal: The Communities That Care Coalition's mission is to bring Franklin County schools, parents, youth and the community together to promote protective factors, reduce risk factors, prevent substance use and other risky behaviors, and improve young people's ability to reach their full potential and thrive.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve classroom management in order to provide a better learning environment that fosters academic success.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: The purpose of the Career Connections Employment Resource Institute is to expand employment opportunities for persons with mental illness.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease barriers and increase rates for colorectal cancer screening among low-income, non-English speaking patients.
Green Power Partnership - Bellingham's global warming pollution reduction through use of green power (Bellingham)
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air
Goal: The goal is for cities or companies to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, research shows that buying 100 percent green power is the most significant step the City of Bellingham can take to protect the climate; it would eliminating more than 65 percent of the global warming pollution caused by municipal operations.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer, Women
Goal: The goal of the Inside Knowledge campaign is to increase knowledge and awareness about the signs and symptoms of the five major gynecologic cancers.
Meal Delivery Programs Reduce the Use of Costly Health Care in Dually Eligible Medicare And Medicaid Beneficiaries (Massachusetts)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: In this study, it was sought to examine whether home delivery of medically tailored meals or non-tailored food reduces the use of selected health care services and medical spending among Commonwealth Care Alliance members. Because there is knowingly an association between food insecurity and emergency room visits, it was hypothesized that the medically tailored meals would cause a reduction in ER visits and other costly healthcare services and expenditures.
Impact: Researchers estimate monthly net savings of $220 per participant for medically tailored meals and $10 per participant for the non-tailored food program. This study suggests that vulnerable patients, in this case, the dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare, can benefit from meal delivery programs.
Medical Legal Partnerships: Embedding Civil Legal Aid Services in Care for High-Utilizing Patients (Lancaster, PA)
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Governance, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the pilot was to assess the impact on health care use of addressing patients’ civil legal problems – the social, financial, or environmental problems that require assistance from lawyers to remedy. The lawyer was embedded in the health care team and present during case management discussions to identify specific civil legal problems and to help the team better understand how to address them. Additionally, this partnership provided civil legal aid services to patients when needed in a community health care system.
Impact: This pilot shows a medical-legal partnership for the super-utilizers of healthcare can lead to efficiencies within the health care system, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes among the most vulnerable patients.
Methodist Germantown Diabetes-Self Management Education & Support (DSMES) Service (Shelby County, TN)
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The organization goal for the DSMES Service is to help each person living with diabetes attain knowledge and/or skills that may enable and empower them to perform effective self-care, promote wellness and prevent sickness and complications