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, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: OCWD's goals in 2001 were to reduce energy load, save money and preserve/extend equipment life. Its projects targeted power use in buildings' electrical/lighting systems; chemical and energy management issues concerning the plant treatment process and HVAC systems; and energy use by employees and ultimately customers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: Florida started the drug court movement by creating the first treatment-based drug court in the nation in 1989. The drug court concept was developed in Dade County (Miami, Florida) stemming from a federal mandate to reduce the inmate population or suffer the loss of federal funding. The Supreme Court of Florida recognized the severity of the situation and directed Judge Herbert Klein to research the problem. Judge Klein determined that a large majority of criminal inmates had been incarcerated because of drug charges and were revolving back through the criminal justice system because of underlying problems of drug addiction. It was decided that the delivery of treatment services needed to be coupled with the criminal justice system and the need for strong judicial leadership and partnerships to bring treatment services and the criminal justice system together.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: Healthy For Life is school and community-based intervention program that promotes proper nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle habits in order to reduce childhood obesity in Orange County, CA.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The Wellness Curriculum was developed 1) to address the racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes and 2) to fill the need for information that the inmates themselves expressed.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends community water fluoridation to reduce tooth decay (i.e., dental caries or cavities).
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Goal: The goal of the Greater Grand Forks Immunization Coalition is to have all residents protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.The Drive-Through Flu Clinic was designed to address barriers to vaccination in the community for residents six months of age and older.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
Goal: The goal of these projects was to find ways to maximize energy conservation and efficiency through measures with a quick payback period.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: The energy goals of the committee were to save money, reduce energy usage and to "stay on" during blackouts to avoid sending employees home.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children
Goal: The goal of the WHACK the Flu project was to provide strategies for children to employ to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases to their families and other contacts.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Goal: The purpose of the exercise was to train health and emergency medical personnel in planning for and responding to large scale disease outbreaks. The most proven method to assure an effective response to a real event is to practice a well-coordinated multi-agency field exercise.