Founded in 1950, the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) provides leadership to the health education profession and promotes the health of all people through six strategic commitments: developing and promoting standards for professional preparation and credentialing of community and school health educators; stimulating research on the…

Despite widespread use of the Internet and social media platforms by the public, there has been little organized exchange of information among the academic, government, and technology sectors about how digital communication technologies can be maximized to improve public health. The second Digital Health Promotion Executive Leadership Summit…

Broad changes in normative health behavior are critical to overcoming many of the contemporary challenges to public health. Reduction in tobacco use during the last third of the 20th century--one of the greatest improvements in public health--illustrates such change. The culture change from accommodation to intolerance of smoking is irrefutable.…

This article provides an update on initiatives in individual certification and accreditation of academic programs in public/community health education and school health education in the United States. Although we provide some historical context, the focus primarily addresses credentialing efforts that have evolved since the Galway Consensus…

In this article, the authors offer an interpretation of the history of the "Healthy People" initiative showing that the outcomes remain largely the same, with appropriate decennial adjustment of the proliferating numerical targets and increased delineation of objectives for special populations. But the strategies by which those outcomes are to be…

The interest in competencies, standards, and quality assurance in the professional preparation of public health professionals whose work involves health promotion and health education dates back several decades. In Australia, Europe, and North America, where the interest in credentialing has gained momentum, there have been rapidly evolving…

This paper reports the outcome of the Galway Consensus Conference, an effort undertaken as a first step toward international collaboration on credentialing in health promotion and health education. Twenty-nine leading authorities in health promotion, health education, and public health convened a 2-day meeting in Galway, Ireland, during which the…

Background: Due to its chronic nature and its associated impact on physical function and life quality, arthritis in its various forms imposes a significant burden on society. Objective: To critically review and evaluate: (1) what has been documented about the burden of arthritis, (2) what is being done in treatment, and (3) what might be done at…

During the past 40 years, health education has taken significant steps toward improving quality assurance in professional preparation through individual certification and program approval and accreditation. Although the profession has begun to embrace individual certification, program accreditation in health education has been neither uniformly…

National health priorities have moved toward promotion of health and disease prevention over care and disease treatment. Key sociopolitical influences and scientific concepts underlying this shift are analyzed. Strategies of the national program for health promotion and disease prevention include a discussion of uses and misuses of health…

The health education profession has made significant strides in promoting quality assurance for credentialing of health educators through a combination of individual certification and program approval and accreditation mechanisms. Although the profession has widely embraced individual certification, program accreditation has not been uniformly…

The emerging need for trained professionals in multicultural community health education means providing specific curriculum options in the traditional undergraduate community health education program. (JD)