How To Become A Community Health Advocate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a community health advocate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Wendy Huddleston

The health of the community is the main concern of a community health advocate. They may work on a completely voluntary basis or may be an employee of the local community's health office. Either way, their main goal remains the same: to help improve the overall health and wellbeing of the community.

The duties of a community health advocate may vary, but in general, they assess the health needs of the community, conduct interviews with various community members, and propose solutions to agencies and the local government. They also help people receive the healthcare they need by directing them to appropriate services and benefits.

There is no clear path to becoming a community health advocate. One can qualify for this position with a high school diploma and enough relevant experience. However, having a degree in a health-related field can be highly advantageous.

On average, a community health advocate earns around $16 an hour, or roughly $32,000 a year. Some may even be volunteers who receive no compensation for their efforts aside from allowances or donations.

What general advice would you give to a community health advocate?

Dr. Wendy Huddleston

Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Director, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Interprofessional teamwork, cultural humility, flexibility, and innovation will be the keys to a successful future in health and wellness. Healthcare in the US is going to change significantly in the next decade. Methods of delivery, including more telehealth/telecommunications, and the use of AI in clinical practice are some examples.

ScoreCommunity Health AdvocateUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,784

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.36%

Asian 5.25%

Black or African American 12.11%

Hispanic or Latino 23.84%

Unknown 6.42%

White 51.02%

Gender

female 85.47%

male 14.53%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a community health advocate

Explore community health advocate education requirements

Most common community health advocate degrees

Bachelor's

50.4 %

Associate

22.0 %

Master's

17.3 %

Start to develop specific community health advocate skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	23.67%
Community Health	17.28%
Community Resources	9.94%
PowerPoint	7.02%
Primary Care	5.97%

Complete relevant community health advocate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New community health advocates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a community health advocate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real community health advocate resumes.

Research community health advocate duties and responsibilities

Manage large databases, analyze records, perform literature reviews, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and interpret data for publication.
Report on CHP program activities as required by funding sources.
Provide support to counterpart NGOs in activities to build health portfolios.
Monitor and submit all incident reports for the CHP via establish protocols.

Prepare your community health advocate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your community health advocate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a community health advocate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable community health advocate resume templates

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