What is a Public Health Educator?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Public Health Educators teach others about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities. Community health workers collect data and discuss health concerns with members of specific populations or communities.¹

Daily tasks include:

• Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.
• Develop educational materials and programs for community agencies, local government, and state government
• Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids²

These tasks may vary depending on the company or type of facility that you work for:

Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County, Inc in Delray Beach, FL: develop lesson plans and conduct classroom instruction³

Planned Parenthood in San Bernardino, CA: Document your presentations and assist in the collection of statistical information for grant operations and submission⁴

NYC Human Resources Administration in Manhattan, NY: Performing quality control measures by placing phone calls to clients⁵

Becoming a Public Health Educator

Public Health Educators need a minimum education level of a bachelor’s degree. Some health educator positions require a graduate or doctoral degree. Graduate programs are commonly in community health education, school health education, public health education, or health promotion. Some states may also require certification.

To pursue a health educator career, it is helpful to have excellent written and oral communication skills as well as interpersonal skills.¹

Career Outlook

Employment of health educators and community health workers is projected to grow 13 percent until 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. Prevention has become a huge focus in the past decade and fitness and health monitoring has grown in popularity. Growth will be driven by efforts to improve health outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs by teaching people healthy habits and behaviors and explaining how to best utilize available healthcare services.¹

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition, Health Educators and Community Health Workers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm (visited October 12, 2016).
2. 21-1091.00 – Health Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1091.00
3. Behavioral Health Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://www.careerbuilder.com/job/JHN52R7067GCQ0K23N5?ipath=JRG2
4. By continuing you agree to Monster’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and use of cookies. (n.d.). Temp_CompanyByP@$$Login0. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://jobview.monster.com/v2/job/View?JobID=170629220
5. By continuing you agree to Monster’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and use of cookies. (n.d.). City of New York. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://jobview.monster.com/v2/job/View?JobID=171262056