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.
Reducing Health Disparities: Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Contra Costa (Contra Costa County, CA)
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Urban
The goal of this program is to eliminate health disparities among the diverse patient population in Contra Costa County by improving access to services for people who are not comfortable speaking English, and by increasing the cultural and linguistic competence of staff in order to have a workforce capable of working effectively with diverse patients, clients, customers and communities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
The goal of this program is to prevent and reduce substance use and abuse among high risk, multi-problem adolescents placed in residential child care facilities.
One evaluation showed that adolescents participating in RSAP showed significant reductions in their use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco from pretest to posttest measures.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
The goal of this program is to prevent violence among middle school students.
Rates of violence-related violations among 6th graders were 2.2 times lower in classrooms using RiPP than in non-participating classrooms. In-school suspension rates among 6th graders were also 5.0 times higher in the non-participating classrooms.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goals of the program are: 1) to promote abstinence maintenance among sexually abstinent students and encourage safer sex practices to sexually active students, 2) compare the effect of RAPP when taught by different providers, and 3) to explore the factors that impact a student's decision to engage in sexual activity.
Regular teacher-taught male (p=.001) and female students (p=.05) and peer-taught male students (p=.02) had the highest rates of delaying the onset of sexual activity.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
The goal of this intervention is to prevent new STD infections.
The Safe in the City program shows that clinic waiting room videos displaying prevention knowledge and techniques can actually help to reduce the number of new infections of certain STDs.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
The main goal of the Middle School strategy is to reduce the incidence of violence among youth measured by the reduction in suspensions for violence and to improve the perception of safety at school.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Safe Streets/Strong Communities is a community-based organization that campaigns for a new criminal justice system in New Orleans, one that creates safe streets and strong communities for everyone, regardless of race or economic status.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens
The goal of the Safer Choices program is to reduce the number of students engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse.
The program reduced the frequency of intercourse without a condom, reduced the number of sexual partners with whom students had intercourse without a condom, and increased use of condoms and other protection against pregnancy at last intercourse.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Women, Urban
The goal of the Safer Sex project is to increase condom use, prevent recurrent STDs, and eliminate or reduce risky sexual behaviors among adolescent females that have been diagnosed with an STD.
The Safer Sex project shows that individualized safer sex interventions may improve condom use and decrease the number of partners among adolescent girls who have had an STD.