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.
Home-Delivered Meals Postdischarge From Heart Failure Hospitalization (GOURMET-HF) (Columbia University Medical Center, the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System, and the University of Michigan Health System)
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults
Goal: The goals of GOURMET-HF are to assess the safety of the intervention, including effects on cardiac biomarkers and rehospitalization burden.
Impact: Home-delivered DASH/SRD after HF hospitalization appear safe in selected patients and had favorable effects on HF clinical status and 30-day readmissions. The GOURMET-HF pilot study suggests that postdischarge nutritional support has the potential to improve HF symptoms and reduce readmissions
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among adolescents.
Impact: Evaluations of the project showed that there was a smaller increase in students who intend to use cigarettes, alcohol, and tobacco within the upcoming months and that there were significant effects on the proportion of students reporting the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and tobacco.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: Shepherd's Center Central is a local leader in the regional effort to ensure that all people can age successfully with dignity, security, and respect.
Impact: In 2016, Adventures in Learning experienced attendance of 80 members per week and offered a total of 520 classes during the four 10-week sessions available.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Women, Urban
Goal: The mission of Sheffield Place is "to empower homeless mothers and their children to heal from their trauma and help them become self-sufficient." The goal of the Aftercare program is to provide continuing supportive services once the families have transitioned from the residential program to permanent housing in the community. In this way, the families receive the support they need to maintain or increase income, maintain or improve mental health functioning, and maintain permanent housing.
Impact: This program provides vital supportive services for formerly-homeless families in recovery. Sheffield Place grew from serving just 20 families in 2010 to serving 132 families in 2017 (102 in residential and 30 in aftercare).
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Assessment and Referral is to help individuals struggling with a substance use disorder evaluate their needs and strengths and begin to make healthy choices that improve the overall quality of their lives.
Impact: First Call provided over 1,700 assessments in 2013, and more than half of clients showed improvements in their Addiction Severity Index (ASI) scores or a decrease in substance use.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of Caring for Kids is to provide youth impacted by a loved one's substance use with the tools they need to stay safe and build a healthy life, and to reduce the likelihood that impacted youth will abuse substances.
Impact: In 2013, more than 250 youth were impacted by Caring for Kids. 90% of youth participants showed a decreased likelihood of alcohol or other drug use, and 100% completed an action plan.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve school performance through reciprocal peer tutoring.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Goal: The goal of HealthSentry is to meet the challenge of linking public health organizations to reliable clinical data without burdensome manual data collection and reporting.more timely and accurate reporting.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Sojourner Health Clinic is to pick up where the current medical system leaves off by providing free acute and ongoing healthcare to patients who do not have access--or are reluctant to access—traditional routes to a doctor or medicine.
Impact: During 2012, the Sojourner Health Clinic managed to increase the number of diabetic patients with A1C levels below 9 percent from 15% to 83%, reducing the average blood glucose level of patients and giving them a better sense of control over their diabetes.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
Goal: The Coterie exists to provide professional classic and contemporary theater, which challenges the audience and artist alike, and to provide educational, dramatic outreach programs in the community. The Coterie seeks to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations. The objectives of DHEP are to improve knowledge regarding HIV and STDs and reduce the intentions of teenagers to practice high-risk behavior. DHEP also continues to refine the culturally-specific dramatic workshops and ensure story lines are relevant to teenagers.
Impact: After watching this program, over 75% of students report that they would be less likely to practice high-risk sexual behavior.