Master of Public Health
About the Program
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MPH Concentration of Study in
Community Health
Education
The University of Tennessee
Welcome to a Community Health Education program which achieved
an historical first. In 1969 the Master of Science Degree
with a major in public health education at The University of Tennessee
was accredited by the committee on professional education of the
American Public Health Association. It became the Nation’s first public
health education program outside a school of public health setting
to be accredited. As the program has evolved into the current
MPH degree with a concentration in Community Health Education
(CHE), the exciting focus on education of individuals and communities
to motivate behavioral modification for healthier lives has continued.
The Joint Terminology Committee in 2001 defined the health education
field as professional practice that uses multidisciplinary
theories along with behavioral and organizational change principles
to plan, implement, and evaluate interventions that enable
individuals, groups, and communities to achieve personal, environmental,
and social health. Students who choose
to study Community Health Education at UT develop skills and have experiences
related to the ten nationally recognized responsibilities for health
educators.
A health educator is an individual prepared professionally to
serve in a variety of roles. The health educator is specifically
trained to use appropriate educational strategies and methods to
facilitate the development of policies, procedures, interventions,
and systems conducive to the health of individuals, groups, and
communities. There are a variety of settings in which a health
educator may practice. Examples include, but are not limited to: communities,
schools, post-secondary educational institutions, mental health
agencies, public health agencies, governmental agencies, environmental
agencies, rehabilitation centers, professional associations,
work sites (both business and industry), medical care institutions,
and voluntary health agencies or non-governmental organizations.
Some of the most rewarding jobs in public health are filled
by Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES). In addition
to being professionally prepared as a health educator, a person
with CHES is credentialed after demonstrating competency based
on criteria established by the National Commission for Health Education
Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC). Students completing UT's MPH
degree with a concentration in Community Health Education are well-prepared
to take the CHES exam. The rate of successful completion
of the exam by UT graduates is highly encouraging.
In addition to the required foundation courses for completion
of the MPH degree, CHE students take three required concentration
courses and select related electives, which prepare them for
responsibilities as community health educators. The initial course, Principles
and Practices of Community Health Education, introduces students
to the theoretical foundations and settings for community health
education and offers opportunities for skill development, such
as the design and implementation of a media advocacy project. In
the second course, Community Health Problem Solving, students practice
their skills in a community setting, working with public health
practitioners to plan, implement and evaluate programs. A
third course is Research Methods in Health. In this course,
students use quantitative and qualitative methods in research
designs and describe the application of research results.
Community
Health Education students culminate their learning experiences
with an internship, which is an opportunity to use skills as
a health education specialist with mentoring by a preceptor
practicing in the field. Graduate students, in concert with their academic
advisor, assess their career aspirations and review previous public
health experiences. Based on identified professional needs,
a placement is selected for each student's nine week internship
that optimizes the opportunity for growth and further skill development. Examples
of settings in which UT's Community Health Education students
have completed internships include health departments, state
and federal health agencies, nonprofit voluntary health organizations,
hospitals, corporate wellness centers, population-specific health
delivery service organizations, and disease-specific health advocacy
groups.
By the time of graduation, the community health education
student is expected to have developed the following competencies:
- Obtain health related data about social and cultural environments,
growth and development factors, needs,
and interests.
- Design educational programs consistent with specified program
objectives.
- Exhibit competence in carrying out planned educational programs.
- Develop plans to assess achievement of program objectives.
- Formulate practical modes of collaboration among health agencies
and organizations.
- Select effective educational resource materials for dissemination.
- Interpret concepts, purposes, and theories of health education.
- Use appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods.
- Analyze the organization’s culture in relationship
to program goals.
- Assume the responsibility for advancing the professi
Note:
The selected competencies were taken from “A Competency-Based
Framework for Professional Development of Certified Health
Education Specialists,” “Standards for Preparation
of Graduate-Level Health Educators,” and the “Competencies
Update Project.”
As you complete the degree and move into the community to make
your own contributions in public health, we believe you may find
fulfillment in a career which touches the lives of people and the
various communities in which they live, work, and play. Recognizing
the program’s accomplishment as "first" of its
kind, why not pursue some "firsts" of your own within
the exciting and challenging profession of health education?
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