The future of the health education profession: implications for preparation and practice

The health education profession has come to a critical point in its development. If health education is to fulfill its promise as a worthwhile strategy to improve health, the specific competencies of health education specialists and, concomitantly, the educational preparation that they need must be clearly defined. In the past, no clear definition was possible because of the diversity of preparatory programs, the absence of commonly accepted accreditation standards, educators, inconsistent employment requirements, inadequate manpower data, and poor mechanisms for quality assurance. Health educators are examining the various forms of credentialing--accreditation, licensure, and certification--with a view to their use as a means of strengthening the profession's preparation and practice standards. A Role Delineation Project undertaken by the National Center for Health Education, San Francisco, under a contract with the Bureau of Health Professions of the Health Resources Administration, has been completed. Activities that will be carried out subsequent to role delineation are expected to enable the health profession to resolve systematically fundamental issues in respect to manpower standards.