Perspectives on Terminology and Conceptual and Professional Issues in Health Education and Health Promotion Credentialing

Abstract

This article was prepared to inform the deliberations of the Galway Consensus Conference by providing a common and global reference point for the discussion of terminology and key conceptual and professional issues in the credentialing of health education and health promotion specialists. The article provides a review of the terminology that is currently employed across different countries in defining health education and health promotion as well as health educator and health promotion specialist. The terminology used to describe concepts in professional credentialing of health education and health promotion specialists and the scope of professional responsibilities of such specialists, including the terms professional competencies, professional standards, and accreditation, are also reviewed. Finally, key unresolved issues are identified and discussed from a global perspective. The article concludes that despite differences in terminology in the definitions of roles and responsibilities, health education and health promotion are conceptually more similar than different across countries.

O uso de tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) em experiências de pós-graduação sobre promoção da saúde no Brasil e na Costa Rica

“…Promoção da Saúde e Educação em Saúde não são sinônimos, embora tenham semelhanças e diferenças entre si. No cenário internacional, alguns autores usam os termos promoção da saúde e educação em saúde como se fossem intercambiáveis, enquanto outros enfatizam as diferenças de abordagem, princípios e efetividade de cada um 12 .…”

Health Behavior in Ecological Context

“…Therefore, I prefer to think of health education not as a process distinct from health promotion but as a profession concerned with health promotion processes. Health education meets most of the standards of a profession, including professional organizations, standards for practice, and credentialing (Taub et al, 2009). Although health education is not the only profession that engages in health promotion, it is perhaps the one profession that is devoted exclusively to health promotion.…”

“…Definitions convey concepts that foster common understanding among the members of the profession. Despite a number of consensus documents on health education and health promotion terminology (Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology, 2002; Taub, Allegrante, Barry, & Sakagami, 2009; World Health Organization [WHO], 2009) and the efforts of textbook authors (Green & Kreuter, 2005; Bartholomew, Parcel, Kok, & Gottlieb, 2011; Simons-Morton, Greene, & Gottlieb, 1995; Simons-Morton, McLeroy, & Wendel, 2011), there remains considerable variability in how some key terms are employed and the meanings they convey. The purpose of this commentary is to suggest definitions for key terms that are used variably in health promotion, with a particular focus on the term health behavior .…”

Implementation of Health Promotion Competencies in Ireland and Italy—A Case Study

“…Identifying and agreeing core competencies has been acknowledged as an essential component of developing and strengthening Health Promotion workforce capacity to improve health and wellbeing [1][2][3]. It was in this context that the CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion [4,5] was developed in 2012 as the core element of a European Union funded project that developed competency-based quality assurance for Health Promotion practice, education and training in Europe [6].…”

“…As a rationale for developing competencies, reference is made in the international literature to the many positive benefits that can accrue from their implementation. These include enhancing Health Promotion workforce capacity, quality assurance of practice, education and training, and as a basis for developing a shared vision of what constitutes the specific knowledge and skills required for effective and ethical Health Promotion practice [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, potentially negative consequences of competencies have also been identified, including the fact that they may undervalue professional judgement and restrict the dynamic nature of Health Promotion practice [9][10][11].…”