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Community health educator vs community health worker

The differences between community health educators and community health workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a community health educator and a community health worker. Additionally, a community health educator has an average salary of $43,889, which is higher than the $37,079 average annual salary of a community health worker.

The top three skills for a community health educator include patients, public health and health promotion. The most important skills for a community health worker are patients, community health, and social work.

Community health educator vs community health worker overview

Community Health EducatorCommunity Health Worker
Yearly salary$43,889$37,079
Hourly rate$21.10$17.83
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs66,73182,445
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4343
Years of experience44

What does a community health educator do?

A community health educator promotes health and wellness to a community through various health programs. Their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data to identify the community's needs, researching and planning activities, liaising with internal and external partners, developing health programs and activities, answering health inquiries, providing advice, and presenting educational materials to the community. They also serve as the link between healthcare services and specialists. Moreover, a community health educator must train and manage staff to provide optimal services to the community.

What does a community health worker do?

A community health worker is a health professional who is a lay member of the community that provides health care in both urban and rural environments. Community health workers offer the health needs of the community they serve and provide some direct services such as first aid and blood pressure screening. They help people understand their health conditions and deliver health information by using appropriate cultural terms and concepts. Community health workers also make home visits to patients who are clinically ill, pregnant women, and individuals at high risk of health problems.

Community health educator vs community health worker salary

Community health educators and community health workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Community Health EducatorCommunity Health Worker
Average salary$43,889$37,079
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $59,000Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityWest Hollywood, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaConnecticut
Best paying companyUniversity of Massachusetts BostonPacific Northwest National Laboratory
Best paying industryGovernmentInsurance

Differences between community health educator and community health worker education

There are a few differences between a community health educator and a community health worker in terms of educational background:

Community Health EducatorCommunity Health Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorHealth EducationPsychology
Most common collegeUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Southern California

Community health educator vs community health worker demographics

Here are the differences between community health educators' and community health workers' demographics:

Community Health EducatorCommunity Health Worker
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 18.9% Female, 81.1%Male, 23.5% Female, 76.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 6.2% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 5.8% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage21%21%

Differences between community health educator and community health worker duties and responsibilities

Community health educator example responsibilities.

  • Engage with members' telephonically, using motivational interviewing techniques to assist members' in achieving their health goals.
  • Educate low-income populations as to proper nutrition on a budget in an effort to reduce diabetes and obesity rates.
  • Educate local community via verbal presentations on nutrition guidelines and neonatal screenings by creating PowerPoint presentations and visual aids.
  • Provide case management of enrollee participation to ensure completion of schedule mammograms and cervical testing.

Community health worker example responsibilities.

  • Lead process and counseling groups gear toward healing from both PTSD and substance dependence issues.
  • Manage large databases, analyze records, perform literature reviews, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and interpret data for publication.
  • Complete vitals on all patients and record vitals in EMR.
  • Train and educate professionals on HIV prevention and testing in the community.
  • Create program materials such as flyers, letters, banners, handouts, etc.
  • Assess asthma control by completing questionnaires during home visits and communicating this information via EMR.
  • Show more

Community health educator vs community health worker skills

Common community health educator skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Public Health, 9%
  • Health Promotion, 9%
  • Community Outreach, 6%
  • Disease Prevention, 6%
  • Community Health Education, 5%
Common community health worker skills
  • Patients, 13%
  • Community Health, 12%
  • Social Work, 8%
  • Community Resources, 7%
  • CHW, 5%
  • Social Services, 4%

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