Health Educator Job Analysis Project: A model of health education practice

Background: The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), the American Association for Health Education (AAHE), and the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc (NCHEC) have emphasized the importance of quality assurance and the promotion of standards for professional practice of health education specialists. NCHEC administers a credentialing system, which has met the national standards by the National Commission of Certified Agencies Accreditation (NCCA), to certify individual health education specialists for quality assurance. One of NCCA's requirements is that the basis of the certification be originated from a job analysis process. The Health Educator Job Analysis (HEJA 2010) process validates the contemporary practice of entry- and advanced-level health education specialists and leads to an update of the Health Education Competencies and Sub-competencies, previously identified in the Competencies Update Project, (CUP). Purpose: This presentation will explain the process and reveal the results of the HEJA, sponsored by NCHEC, SOPHE, and AAHE. Methods: In brief, 62 volunteer health educators were selected by a steering committee to serve in various capacities throughout the project. The volunteers represented an array of work-settings, educational and demographic backgrounds, and varying levels of experience. A systematic model of practice, including a mixed-methods approach, was utilized to develop and empirically validate the knowledge base required of health education specialists. Results: The robust study resulted in a validated, two-level hierarchical model of health education practice. These results will be discussed, along with implications for the profession.