Identifying Evidenced-based Interventions
From the Community Tool Box
Links to Databases of Best Practices
Comprehensive Databases
The following arecomprehensiveweb-based resources for exploring promising approaches to promote community health and development (see below for resources bycategory):
Campbell Collaboration (C2)
The Campbell Collaboration disseminates systematic reviews of existing interventions. Its topics include crime, social welfare, and education.
Canadian Best Practices Portal for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention
The primary goals of the Canadian Best Practices Portal are to: develop and disseminate best practices information for chronic disease prevention and control interventions, provide decision makers with a comprehensive and standardized resource about best practices for chronic disease prevention and control, and to create awareness of the overall Canadian Best Practices System through communication and marketing activities targeted to key audiences (decision makers in practice, decision makers in policy development, decision makers in research).
Cochrane Collaboration
The Cochrane Collaboration reviews standards for healthcare interventions and appropriate treatments.The healthcare evidence is also available in Spanish. Cochrane is a site that offers training and other services.
Community Guide (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
This guide provides evidence based recommendations of what is known about effectiveness, economic efficiency, and feasibility of interventions to prevent disease and promote health in a variety of public health concerns including substance abuse, violence, and nutrition.
Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating Center (EPPI-Centre)
The EPPI-Centre provides review of evidence-based policy and practice related to social interventions.The site engages researchers in discussion of how to make research more relevant and how to use findings in many areas including education and health promotion.
Healthy People 2020 Structured Evidence Queries
This site makes information andevidence-based strategiesrelated to the Healthy People 2020 objectives easier to find. The National Library of Medicine has worked together to develop search strategies for selectedHealthy People 2020subject areas. These one-click strategies searchPubMed, a database of the National Library of Medicine that provides access to over 11 million citations from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related sources.
Model Practice Database from National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
A guide to model / promising practices that is searchableby state, type, year, or keyword.
National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices
The NGA Center for Best Practices helps policy staff develop and implement innovative solutions to challenges facing their states.It provides comprehensive information about best practices in emerging issues including: education, health, homeland security and technology, environment, energy, and workforce programs.
New Tactics in Human Rights Database
A searchable tactics database of over 200 examples from advocates and their organizations around the world who have successfully used tactics to address the wide range of human rights and development issues facing their communities. In addition to the main database, this site also offersTactical Notebooks, in-depth case studies from 49 practitioners that provide a step-by-step guide of how they implemented a significant change, andNew Tactics in Human Rights: A Resource for Practitioners, a book features 100 brief, inspirational stories from around the world (all available to download for free from the website), categorized by a) intervention tactics; b) prevention tactics; c) restorative tactics; and d) promotional tactics (building human rights cultures and institutions).
NREPP: National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
NREPP is a searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders. SAMHSA has developed this resource to help people, agencies, and organizations implement programs and practices in their communities
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Solutions for America (The Guide for Civic Problem Solving)
The Solutions for America guide summarizes effective evidence-based strategies in addressing healthy communities and families, thriving neighborhoods, living-wage jobs, and viable economies.
Program Archives (Sociometrics)
Programs Archives profiles outstanding prevention programs in key health areas (sexuality, health and adolescence, HIV/AIDS, youth substance abuse and prevention).It aims to facilitate the implementation of proven and cost effective initiatives.
Resource Center: Effective Practices
This database offers Effective Practices, or "good ideas, successful strategies, and studied findings to help programs thrive", for the categories of Service Activities, Volunteer, Member and Staff Management, and Program, Financial and Grant Management. They are searchable by Topic, Group, or Special Collections.
“What Works” for Child and Youth Development: Tools for Improving Services to Children and Youth (Child Trends)
Child Trend’s “What Works” guide provides interactive tables which illustrate what works and what does not work in improving outcomes for children and adolescents.
What Works for Health - County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Developed by experts at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, What Works for Health is an online tool that you can use to find effective policies and programs to improve the many factors that affect your health. Because evidence matters when it comes to developing and implementing solutions to problems that affect communities, each of the programs included in What Works for Health is given an evidence rating. The highest-rated programs and policies have been shown to work. What Works for Health is easy to use - just choose a health factor of interest (i.e. tobacco use, employment, access to health care, environmental quality, etc.) and browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address the particular health factor of interest.
What Works Wisconsin: Effective Prevention and Intervention Programs
What Works Wisconsin is a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology and the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Family Living Program. Initiated in 2004, the What Works project focuses on distilling the latest scientific knowledge on effective policies, practices, and programs, including “evidence-based programs,” for youth and their families, schools, and communities. It provides practitioners and policymakers with the tools to develop effective programs and evaluate and improve existing programming based on state-of-the-art knowledge of what makes programs effective.
Categorical Websites
The following arecategoricalweb-based resources for promising approaches addressing particular issues:
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP)
AMCHP's "Innovation Station" is a searchable database of emerging, promising, and best practices in Maternal and Child Health from across the nation.
Putting What Works to Work (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy)
The Campaign translates research on teen-pregnancy prevention into user-friendly materials.
What Works for Health - Resources on Sexual Activity
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address sexual activity - part of the What Works for Health database.
CANCER
Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T (National Cancer Institute)
Theresearch-tested intervention programspresent knowledge related to the prevention and treatment of cancer in a user-friendly database
CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP)
AMCHP's "Innovation Station" is a searchable database of emerging, promising, and best practices in Maternal and Child Health from across the nation.
Healthy People Evidence-Based Recommendations for Adolescent Health
Because they are in developmental transition, adolescents and young adults are particularly sensitive to environmental—that is, contextual or surrounding—influences. Environmental factors, including family, peer group, school, neighborhood, policies, and societal cues, can either support or challenge young people’s health and well-being. Addressing the positive development of young people facilitates their adoption of healthy behaviors and helps to ensure a healthy and productive future adult population. Thisdatabase provides clinical recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Programs Guide
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Model Programs Guide (MPG) is designed to assist practitioners and communities in implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs that can make a difference in the lives of children and communities. The MPG database of over 200 evidence-based programs covers the entire continuum of youth services from prevention through sanctions to reentry.
Pathways Mapping Initiative (Harvard University and the Annie E. Casey Foundation)
The Pathways Mapping Initiative provides a map of indicators for school readiness and family economic success that contribute to child and youth outcomes.
Period of Purple Crying (Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Program)
The Period of PURPLE Crying program is the name given to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome's evidence-basedprevention program, which includes a full color 11-page booklet and a 10-minute DVD intended to be given to parents of new infants. The Period of PURPLE Crying program helps parents and caregivers understand the frustrating features of crying in normal infants that can lead to shaking or abuse. The program provides the opportunity for parents to learn about the crying characteristics from over 25 years of research on normal infant crying conducted by Ronald G. Barr, MDCM, and other scientists worldwide.
Promising Practice Network on Children, Youth, and Families
The Promising Practices Network site highlights programs and practices and research evidence about what works in improving outcomes for children and youth.
What Works for Health - Resources on Family and Social Support
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address family and social support programs - part of the What Works for Health database.
CHRONIC DISEASE
Healthy People 2020 Evidence-Based Recommendations for Physical Activity
Released in 2008, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) is the first-ever publication of national guidelines for physical activity. The Physical Activity objectives for Healthy People 2020 reflect the strong state of the science supporting the health benefits of regular physical activity among youth and adults. Regular physical activity includes participation in moderate and vigorous physical activities and muscle-strengthening activities.
Preventing Chronic Disease
Preventing Chronic Diseaseis a peer-reviewed electronic journal focusing on the link between applied prevention research and pubic health practice in preventing chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular diseases).
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Healthy People 2020 Evidence-Based Recommendations for Community-Based Interventions
This database provides evidence-based community interventionsfrom the Guide to Community Preventive Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health status and related health behaviors are determined by influences at multiple levels: personal, organizational/institutional, environmental, and policy. Because significant and dynamic interrelationships exist among these different levels of health determinants, educational and community-based programs are most likely to succeed in improving health and wellness when they address influences at all levels and in a variety of environments/settings.
Knowledge Plex
The Knowledge Plex database consists of relevant research, case studies, best practices, and other material in the fields of affordable housing and community development.
What Works for Health - Resources on Community Safety
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving community safety - part of the What Works for Health database.
What Works for Health - Resources on Improving the Built Environment of Your Community
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving the built environment of a community - part of the What Works for Health database.
What Works for Health - Resources on Environmental Quality
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving environmental quality - part of the What Works for Health database.
EDUCATION
What Works Clearinghouse (U.S. Department of Education)
Provides scientific evidence of what works in educational programs, practices, products, and policies through easily accessible databases and reports.
What Works for Health - Resources on Education
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address education - part of the What Works for Health database.
HEALTH CARE
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Putting Prevention Into Practice
PPIP clinical intervention materials are based on research-tested interventions for improving the delivery of services in primary health care settings.
RTI-UNC Evidence-based PracticeCenter
The RTI-UNC EPC provides summations of scientific evidence for a variety of healthcare topics. It is one of thirteen EPCs sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
What Works for Health - Resources on Access to Care
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving access to health care - part of the What Works for Health database.
What Works for Health - Resources on Quality of Care
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving quality of health care - part of the What Works for Health database.
HEALTH IMPROVEMENT
Health Policy Guide: Evidence-based Policies to Improve the Public’s Health (Center for health Improvement)
The Health Policy Guide profiles policy ideas, examples of effectiveness, and references reviewed by public health experts.
NREPP: SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) is a searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders, including violence prevention. The purpose of this registry is to assist the public in identifying approaches to preventing and treating mental and/or substance use disorders that have been scientifically tested and that can be readily disseminated to the field.
What Works for Health - Resources on Diet and Exercise
Browse through the evidence ratings for particular programs, policies, or system changes that address improving overall health, focusing on healthy eating and physical activity - part of the What Works for Health database.
HEALTH PROMOTION
Intervention MICA (Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services)
Intervention MICA is an evidence-based intervention planning system to support community stakeholders and public health practitioners. It provides tools for needs assessment, priority-setting, intervention design, implementation, and evaluation.
HIV/AIDS
Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
A set of effective science-based HIV/AIDS interventions created in response to requests from prevention service providers and others.
Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions project (DEBI) (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
A national-level strategy bringing “science-based, community-and group-level HIV prevention interventions to community-based service providers and state and local health departments.”