Health education: a boon to humanity or a fantasy and fraud?

The health education profession in the United States has been influenced by three major forces in recent years: sociomedical phenomena resulting in a public demand for health education, disease specificity of the practice of health education, and the process of professional credentialing. While these three forces are looked upon by many as beneficial to the profession, they also pose significant threats to the viability of the profession. Health educators must deal with these threats if the health education profession is to significantly benefit humanity. Otherwise, the profession may be ultimately perceived as a fantasy and fraud.