Health education is a central component of community health. Community health educators are experts in prevention program development, implementation, evaluation and management. As health educators, we are not interested in treatment per se, but rather with developing community-based educational programs which promote health and prevent disease. To be an effective health educator, you must like people and believe in both the individual's and the society's ability to change. You must be committed to advocating for the rights of people to have the ability and the resources to make healthy choices.
Health educators become experts at group process and communication.
As a health educator, you will work with people to help them understand themselves and the things that determine their health status. We serve as advocates for asserting the personal or collective power to change and work closely with communities to facilitate that process. In your professional preparation as a health educator, you will learn a series of skills which will enable you to assist communities and individuals to achieve their goals of health promotion and risk reduction. Health educators do many things in a variety of different settings. We also work with people across the age span, including children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly.