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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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Comprehensive Homeless Access to Nontraditional Clinical Experiences (CHANCE) (Syracuse, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of CHANCE is to facilitate a connection between mental health services and homeless individuals.

Cornell Waste Management Institute Food Scrap Composting Project (New York)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The goal of the Cornell Waste Management Institute project was to increase the capacity to compost the tremendous amount of food scraps produced in New York State.

Corrections Demonstration Project (California)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the CDP was to improve health care access for incarcerated individuals and at-risk minority populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

Family Place Libraries™ (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of Family Place Libraries™ is to increase the capacity of libraries throughout the nation to recognize and realize their full potential as community hubs for healthy child and family development, parent and community involvement and lifelong learning beginning at birth.

Fulmer SPICES: An Overall Assessment Tool for Older Adults (New York, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this tool is to improve patient care for older adults by helping nurses to evaluate common conditions.

Gilda's Club (New York, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer

Goal: The mission of Gilda's Club is to provide places where men, women, and children with cancer and their families and friends join with others to build social and emotional support as a supplement to medical care.

Green and Healthy Homes through People United for Sustainable Housing (Buffalo, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The mission of PUSH Buffalo is to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing; to expand local hiring opportunities; and to advance economic and environmental justice in Buffalo.

Green Guerillas (New York City, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban

Goal: Green Guerillas' goal is to help gardeners cultivate and manage community gardens that thrive as parks, urban farms, and outdoor community centers.

GreenThumb (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to foster civic participation and encourage neighborhood revitalization while preserving open space. Community gardens provide green space and easily accessible recreational opportunities in the areas that need them most.

Heartsong (White Plains, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Health, Families, Urban

Goal: Heartsong’s mission is to provide children with special needs and their families with clinically-based music and art therapy programs.

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.