Public Policy Involvement by Certified Health Education Specialists Results of a National Study

• Published in: Health promotion practice Vol. 17; no. 5; pp. 668 - 674
• Main Authors: Mahas, Rachel, Van Wasshenova, Emily, Everhart, F. Jeannine, Thompson, Amy, Boardley, Debra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.09.2016; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Female; Health Behavior; Health Education; Health Educators - statistics & numerical data; Health Policy; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Policy Advocacy; Policy Making; Politics; Socioeconomic Factors; health education; health promotion; certified health education specialist; advocacy; public policy
• ISSN: 1524-8399; 1552-6372
• DOI: 10.1177/1524839916658652

Background. Advocating for health-related activities is an essential part of being a health educator and knowing how to advocate is an important part of the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. However, based on previous research, there may be a gap between knowing how to and actually participating in public policy activities. The purpose of this study was to determine public policy involvement of CHES. Method. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 500 CHES (41% response rate). Results. The highest selected public policy activities by CHES were the following: voting at an election (88.9%), contacting a public office (49%), and providing policy-related information (42.9%). The number of locations CHES individuals selected in having training on advocacy was a predictive factor in their confidence to perform advocacy. Positive correlations between perceived knowledge and effectiveness of the public policy process and self-reported involvement in public policy were found. Conclusion. Although there is moderate self-reported involvement in public policy activities, more emphasis needs to be placed on raising the confidence of CHES to perform advocacy-related activities in the field.