This document analyzes the 2010 Health Education Specialist Framework and how it applies to working as a community health educator. It discusses the seven areas of responsibility and provides examples of how to implement each one when working in an inner-city community. This includes conducting a needs assessment, developing goals and an action plan focused on nutrition, implementing and modifying nutrition education classes, evaluating programs, managing resources, serving as an information source, communicating effectively to the target population, and continuing professional development. The analysis reveals how understanding the community and target population is essential for an effective community health education program.

1. Running Head: HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 1
Health Education Specialist 2010 Framework Analysis
Kari R. Gottfried
Liberty University

2. HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 2
Health Education Specialist 2010 Framework Analysis
Introduction
As a Health Education Specialist one can work in a variety of settings including
community health. I am interested in community health because it is a good way to influence and
improve the lives, more specifically the health, of many people. I also feel that if I can get a
community to improve their overall health, they will be able to pass those healthy actions and
benefits on to future generations. I would specifically like to work in overseas or inner-city
community health, since I feel those areas are in especially great need for health education.
I. Assess Needs, Assets, and Capacity for Health Education
1.1 Plan assessment process
1.1.1 Identify existing and needed resources to conduct assessment
1.1.4 Develop plans for data collection, analysis, and interpretation
1.7 Infer needs for health education based on assessment findings
Working as a health educator in the inner-city, my first responsibility would be to
conduct a carefully planned assessment using available resources. Once assessment is conducted,
I can then analyze the data to determine the needs of that specific community. For instance, if I
were working in an inner-city, assessment might be a combination of questioning people about
what they feel are major health issues that they face as well as analyzing available government
data about the community, particularly health statistics. After evaluating my collected data, I
might determine that nutrition and drugs are two major issues in the community.
II. Plan Health Education
2.2 Develop goals and objectives
2.2.2 Identify desired outcomes utilizing the needs assessment results

3. HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 3
2.4 Develop a scope and sequence for the delivery of health education
2.4.1 Determine the range of health education needed to achieve goals and objectives
My next step would be to formulate an action plan by determining what major issue I
want to focus on as well as what my goal should be. In the above paragraph, nutrition was
suggested as a major issue, so my goal might be to enable people to eat both nutritiously and
cheaply. This then would be followed by planning how to achieve this, including what methods
to use. For instance, I might determine that a once a week class geared towards the women, with
distribution of donated wholesome foods at the end, would be most effective.
III. Implement Health Education
3.1 Implement a plan of action
3.2 Monitor implementation of health education
3.2.3 Modify plan of action as needed
3.2.4 Monitor use of resources
Once my plan is determined and established, it is time to implement it, and then modify it
as issues arise. Continuing on with the previous example, I could implement my plan by first
advertising the classes by posters and word of mouth, and later leading these classes, which
would educate attendants on basic nutrition and give examples of cheap nutritious foods, as well
as supply them with a nutritious food item. Throughout the process, I might have to make
changes, such as location and time of the class as well as monitor the method and amount of food
distributed.
IV. Conduct Evaluation and ResearchRelated to Health Education
4.1 Develop evaluation/research plan
4.1.3 Assess feasibility of conducting evaluation/research

4. HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 4
4.5 Apply findings from evaluation/research
4.5.3 Apply findings in policy analysis and program development
As a health educator, I also should be involved in evaluation and research pertaining to
health education especially that which is I deem applicable to my current responsibilities as a
community health educator. After developing and conducting research or evaluation, I can then
apply the results to current and future programs. For example, I could conduct research related to
what foods are both nutritious and cost effective as well as evaluate other health educators’
methods on how to present the topic of nutrition, potentially giving me assistance in determining
my program’s content as well as its effective presentation.
V. Administer and Manage Health Education
5.1 Manage fiscal resources
5.1.4 Manage program budgets
5.4 Manage human resources
5.4.2 Demonstrate leadership skills in managing human resources
Another area that I will potentially have to deal with as a community health educator is
effective administration, including making sure that money is used appropriately, as well as
coordinating the efforts of volunteers and other staff. Working in the inner-city, I would likely
not have a lot of financial resources, so I would have to budget the available money efficiently. It
is also possible that my program would be a coordinated effort with a church, so I would need to
know how to assign appropriate tasks to others as well as be able to resolve conflicts that may
arise.
VI. Serve as a Health Education Resource Person
6.1 Obtain and disseminate health-related information

5. HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 5
6.1.2 Identify valid information resources
6.3 Serve as a health education consultant
6.3.6 Facilitate collaborative efforts to achieve program goals
Yet another responsibility I have as a health educator is to be a health resource person,
whether that means accessing and distributing a wide range of health related material or
collaborating with other organizations to provide health education in some form. Continuing my
example, I need to be ready to help individuals who are dealing with various issues better
understand what they are going through, especially through use of reliable pamphlets and
brochures about the issue. I could also collaborate with outside churches or organizations to help
provide my program with nutritious foods for distribution.
VII. Communicate and Advocate for Health and Health Education
7.2 Identify and develop a variety of communication strategies, methods, and techniques
7.2.2 Tailor messages to priority population
7.6 Promote the health education profession
7.6.1 Develop a personal plan for professional growth and service
As professional, I have a responsibility not only to the people I serve but also to the
health education profession to act and communicate effectively and responsibly. For instance,
my priority population will likely be young and middle-aged women, so during class a
combination of power points and nicely designed handouts that they can take home would be one
possibly effective way to communicate the points I want to get across. With regards to
developing myself professionally, I could participate in a NCHEC continuing education activity
such as the online “Promoting Heart Healthy Diets” from Western Kentucky University.

6. HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST 2010 FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS 6
Summary
Working through and analyzing the application of the seven areas of responsibility along
with their competencies and sub-competencies in conjunction with community health education
has revealed to me just how detailed and varied my responsibilities could be. In regards to
specifically working as a health educator in a community, I also discovered just how well and in-
depth I need to understand and know both the community as a whole as well as my target
population. If I do not understand the underlying attitudes and opinions of the community
towards various issues, change, and even my program, I risk my program being a failure or at
least not as effective as it could be.