Descriptive Study of Community Health Education Jobs in the U.S.A., May – December 1998

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the community health education jobs in the USA and to provide relevant workforce information to community health education professionals and students. Two hundred fifty community health education announcements out of 908 were randomly selected from the Heath Education Professional Resources (HEPR) Job Bank for the periods May to December of 1998. Job information such as job searching methods, working environments, job qualifications, job descriptions, salaries, and benefits of community health education professionals were characterized. RESULTS: October had the highest number of job announcements during eighth-month period. There were more job announcements from the Northeast and West. Many of the job announcements were obtained through CareerPath® and America’s Job Bank®. There were at least 137 different job titles. The majority of institutions hiring health educators were either non-profit or government. About two-thirds were public organizations. The majority of the positions (86%) required applicants to have either a baccalaureate or master’s degree. There were diverse job qualifications. College majors other than health education or community health were acceptable. Work experience in descending order were: program planning and evaluation, program management, working with diverse populations, community organization and coordination, and working with multicultural populations in descending order. One to five years of working experience was required for the job positions. Target population and target issues were diverse. Almost half of the health educators served general health issues in their community. Computer skills, particularly word processing and Internet skills, were required. The capacity for working independently and self-motivation were significant factors in the hiring for most of the employers. Communication skills were required in 80% of the job announcements. Other required skills included program assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, and teaching. For full-time employees, the median salary was $36,000. Other employee compensation information is also reported.

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“…Limited information is available through a survey of certified health educators performed in 1997 by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) (1997) and an article by Clark et al (1998) reflecting salary ranges of health educators in local health departments. Another study using 1998 data provided information related to the employee compensation in community health education workforce where at least 137 job titles were found (Wu, 2003). The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing and Coalition of National Health Education Organization (1996) addressed the health education profession in the 21st century describing the state of the profession (demographics, area of practice, preparation, and salary) as imperative, however, a comprehensive study of the salary ranges of health educators remain generally unattended.…”

“…This report and its glaring findings dramatically underscore the critical need to provide direction in shaping jobs and salaries in LHDs and other health education work settings. Potentially, there are alarming disparities as significant differences were found (Wu, 2003) regarding the median salaries of community health education jobs and national median incomes based on educational attainment.…”