199891 Diving into accreditation and certification in health education

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 3:15 PM

M. Elaine Auld, MPH, CHES , Society for Public Health Education, Washington, DC
Joanna Hayden, PhD CHES , Department of Public Health, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
  
Health Education's plunge into quality assurance in the 1970's resulted in the implementation of the certified health education specialist credential (CHES) in 1989, forever changing the landscape of the profession. The currents of quality assurance have now risen to the next level - that of implementing an advanced credential (Master CHES [MCHES]) and accrediting stand-alone undergraduate health education programs. While the MCHES builds upon an existing process, accreditation of stand-alone undergraduate health education programs does. The mechanism by which program quality assurance has been addressed is through the SOPHE/AAHE Baccalaureate Program Approval Committee (SABPAC). Although program approval serves a purpose, accreditation is the recognized means of quality assurance in higher education (National Implementation Task Force for Accreditation in Health Education, 2004) This session will provide an opportunity to dive into the discussion about the changes and challenges facing the profession at this next level of quality assurance - accreditation of stand-alone undergraduate health education programs and implementation of MCHES.

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the development of quality assurance mechanisms in health education, from a historical perspective. 2. Explain the criteria upon which accreditation will be based. 3. Assess a program for inclusion of the criteria upon which accreditation will be based. 4. Develop a timeline for a program to prepare for accreditation. 5. Describe the current status of advanced level individual health education certification – MCHES

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Staffed the Accreditation Task Force for 10 yrs
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health Education Advocacy
See more of: Public Health Education and Health Promotion