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, Economy / Housing & Homes
The mission of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is to provide Alaskans access to safe, quality, affordable housing.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
The mission of this program is to provide services that allow both victims and offenders to participate in a process where both parties have a sense of restored wholeness in their lives and in their communities. This wholeness is manifested when parties are feeling a sense of safety and trust in their communities and in their relationships with self and others. It is the goal of this organization to provide a sense of justice that repairs the damage done and restores relationships, both personal and communal, to their original state to the extent possible.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Joslin's Asian American Diabetes Initiative has a mission to enhance the quality of life and health outcomes for Asian Americans living with diabetes through research, education, outreach and culturally appropriate treatments.
Joslin's Asian Clinic provides comprehensive and culturally appropriate diabetes care for Asian Americans.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
A.S.P.I.R.E aims to reduce teen tobacco use by helping current smokers to quit and preventing non-smokers from beginning to smoke.
Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Adults
Aspiritech's mission is to provide a path for high-functioning individuals on the autism spectrum to realize their potential through meaningful employment.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens, Urban
ASSIST aims to develop a diverse group consisting of young people that will then influence their peers to defy the idea of smoking thus reducing the number of adolescent smokers and reducing its health effects.
A peer-led intervention reduced smoking among adolescents at a modest cost: the ASSIST program cost of £32 ($42 USD) (95% CI = £29.70–£33.80) per student. The incremental cost per student not smoking at 2 years was £1,500 ($1984 USD) (95% CI = £669–£9,947).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
The goal of Assisting in Rehabilitating Kids (ARK) is to increase abstinence and safer sex behaviors among substance-dependent adolescents.
The ARK program successfully increased sexual abstinence among those who received all components: health information, behavior skills training, and risk-sensitization manipulation, with the inclusion of the latter being more resistant to decay over time.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families
Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Adults, Urban
The mission of At The Crossroads is to reach out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need, and provide them with services and programs that will empower them and improve their lives.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
The goal of ATLAS is to reduce anabolic steroid, alcohol, and other illicit drug use by adolescent male athletes.
Student participants of ATLAS had significantly lower intent to use anabolic steroids at both the end of the athletic season and at the 1-year follow-up. Students in the intervention also significantly reduced illicit drug use and were significantly less likely to report drinking and driving.