Community Health Education

The undergraduate program develops health educators who can help transmit health information from the medical arena to the public and promote preventative health behaviors.

The program which offers a B.S. degree in Community Health Education is a non-licensure program which prepares individuals to work as health educators in non-school settings, such as public and private agencies at both the local and national level (The American Cancer Society, The Arthritis Foundation, City, County and State Health Departments, etc.), professional associations (The American Dental Association, The American School Health Association), hospitals (as patient educators), clinics, crisis centers and other arenas in which health education and promotion are practiced. 

Broad objectives of the program include the following:

Students will gain curricular experience and demonstrated knowledge in:

1. liberal education;
2. social and cultural diversity;
3. human growth and development;
4. health content;
5. professional identity;

Students will obtain supervised intervention experience in an Internship program;

Students will gain curricular experiences and demonstrate knowledge and skills in the foundations of community health. For example:

• in the contextual dimensions of the community itself;
• administration of community health programs;
• the social-ecological framework within which health issues can be best addressed;
• history and philosophy of health education;
• role, function, and professional identity of health educators;
• strategies of leadership designated to enhance the health environment of communities based on better health individually and environmentally;
• current issues, policies, laws, and legislation relevant to public health;
• knowledge and application of current and emerging technology; and
• ethical and legal considerations in health programming.

Students will gain curricular experiences based on the Responsibilities and Competencies for entry level health educators as developed by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.

• assessing individual and community needs for health education;
• planning effective health education programs;
• implementing health education programs;
• evaluating effectiveness of health education programs;
• coordinating provision of health education services;
• acting as resource person in health education;
• communicating health and health education needs, concerns, and resources