The options in Health Education are nearly limitless:
Many Health Education Specialists:
The Health Education Studies Program (HESP) prepares undergraduate students for a career as a Health Education Specialist. Health Education Specialists are front-line advocates for promoting health among individuals, families, and communities. Health Education Specialists are an integral part of community health programs. They provide information to individuals and communities in an effort to promote, maintain, and improve healthy lifestyles.
Some of the issues that are of importance include substance abuse, safety, HIV/STDs, nutrition, high blood pressure, smoking, pregnancy, and diabetes. Health Education Specialists are also responsible for collecting and analyzing data for the purpose of researching, designing, and presenting preventative health care programs. These individuals must be able to inform and organize community coalitions in order to address concerns and issues that affect the health of communities.
Health Education Specialists are often responsible for writing educational material, newsletters, public information reports, and grant proposals. They may specialize in various areas that include clinical health, public health, community health, workplace health, and school health. The main objective for a health educator is to prevent disease and promote healthy lifestyles through knowledge and behavior change. Health Education students who meet certain requirements are eligible to take the national certification exam to become a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).
Health Education Specialist/Health Educators work at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels in a variety of settings. The locations and average starting salaries (with a Bachelor’s degree) are listed below: