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 Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the Hospital Diversion Initiative is to connect individuals who chronically utilize the inpatient and emergency rooms with outpatient care.
After three months in the program, participants showed a 66% reduction in ER visits, 68% reduction in inpatient hospital stays, a 72% decrease in homelessness, an 18% reduction in unemployment, and a 66% decrease in past 30 day arrests. More than 350 individuals have been served so far.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy
The Houston READ Commission's mission is to enrich the lives of adult Houstonians and their families by helping them achieve their full potential through literacy, and to contribute to a workforce that will ensure a strong economy and a promising future for the greater Houston area.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
The "I Have a Dream"® Program helps children from low-income areas reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term program of mentoring, tutoring, and enrichment with an assured opportunity for higher education.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults, Women, Men, Urban
The goal of the IMMUNITY campaign is to increase awareness around the importance of adults receiving vaccinations for commonly preventable diseases.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families
To decrease saturated fat consumption and thus reduce coronary heart disease risk factors in young children.
STRIP's intervention of diet counseling that began at a child's infancy favorably impacted the child's diet through childhood up to ages 8 or 10, but the goal of 2:1 unsaturated-saturated fatty acid ratio in a child's diet was not met for either intervention or control group.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children
The goal of this program is to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke through changes in community health policies, environment, and individual lifestyle behaviors that will impact the health and wellness of area fourth grade school students.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate
The goal of the restoration of La Posada Hotel was to preserve and restore the hotel as a historic landmark, and to reinvigorate the economy of Winslow, Arizona.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) is a research intervention program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior.
Evidence suggests that LIFT can be a useful tool for promoting effective parenting in the home and decreasing aggressive behaviors with peers at school and on the playground. LIFT participants exhibited a decrease in child physical aggression toward classmates on the playground, an increase in teachers' positive impressions of child social skills with classmates, and a decrease in parents' aversive behavior during family problem-solving discussions.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens
The goal of the Lions Quest program is to promote healthy, safe, and drug-free behaviors in youth.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Older Adults
To assess whether an Individualized Management for Patient-Centered Targets (IMPaCT), delivered by community health workers improved patients' chronic disease management and self-rated physical and mental health.
Individuals with multiple chronic conditions when paired with a community health worker will perceive that their care is higher quality and may have fewer hospitalizations.