Facts about Health Educators

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Health educators held about 62,000 jobs in 2006, that number is expected to grow to 78,000 by 2016. More than 250 colleges and universities provide baccalaureate, masters and/or doctoral degrees in health education. Entry-level positions for Health Educators generally require a bachelor’s degree in health education, but many employers prefer to hire workers with a master’s degree. Many health educators have achieved the designation of certified health education specialists (CHES) by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. A list of the areas of responsibility, competencies and sub-competencies that guide the professional preparation and employment of health.

## Where do health educators work?

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* A small percent of health educators work in grant-making services and social advocacy organizations.
* 5 out of 10 health educators work in health care and social assistance and an additional 2 out of 10 work in State and local government.

## What do Health Educators Do?

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Among the many skills health educators have are:

* Assessing individual and community needs
* Planning health education programs
* Developing health education programs
* Coordinating health education programs
* Implementing health education programs
* Managing health education programs
* Coalition building
* Identifying resources & making referrals
* Developing social marketing & media campaigns

You can expect a trained health educator to be able to:

* Organize / mobilize communities
* Handle controversial health issues / content
* Advocate for health-related issues
* Encourage healthy behavior
* Use a variety of educational / training methods
* Develop audio, visual, print and electronic resource materials
* Conduct research
* Write scholarly articles

## Sources

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* www.nchec.org
* www.sophe.org

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