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Community health educator vs health promotion specialist

The differences between community health educators and health promotion specialists 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 health promotion specialist. Additionally, a community health educator has an average salary of $43,889, which is higher than the $40,198 average annual salary of a health promotion specialist.

The top three skills for a community health educator include patients, public health and health promotion. The most important skills for a health promotion specialist are public health, data collection, and health promotion programs.

Community health educator vs health promotion specialist overview

Community Health EducatorHealth Promotion Specialist
Yearly salary$43,889$40,198
Hourly rate$21.10$19.33
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs66,73156,898
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 health promotion specialist do?

A health promotion specialist is responsible for promoting programs targeted at improving public health. They may also be known as a health care practitioner. They organize and manage health improvement programs. Furthermore, they raise awareness for good health, diet, and exercise through training and workshops. They are responsible for coming up with good health policies and schemes to assess health needs. They will also be expected to give advice and inform people on matters related to health. Therefore, they should be up to date with current trends in health promotion.

Community health educator vs health promotion specialist salary

Community health educators and health promotion specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Community Health EducatorHealth Promotion Specialist
Average salary$43,889$40,198
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $59,000Between $28,000 And $56,000
Highest paying CityWest Hollywood, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyUniversity of Massachusetts BostonColumbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industryGovernmentNon Profits

Differences between community health educator and health promotion specialist education

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

Community Health EducatorHealth Promotion Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorHealth EducationHealth Education
Most common collegeUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Florida

Community health educator vs health promotion specialist demographics

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

Community Health EducatorHealth Promotion Specialist
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 18.9% Female, 81.1%Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1%
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, 9.7% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage21%21%

Differences between community health educator and health promotion specialist 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.

Health promotion specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage overall time off processing and reporting as it relates to FMLA and disability programs.
  • Coordinate and develop individual exercise prescription, independently complete monthly progress reports for physician efficiently in a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation setting.
  • Develop recipes and menu plans to accommodate multiple food allergies.
  • Create custom meal plans for diabetics, food allergies and other conditions.
  • Provide case management of enrollee participation to ensure completion of schedule mammograms and cervical testing.

Community health educator vs health promotion specialist 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 health promotion specialist skills
  • Public Health, 21%
  • Data Collection, 6%
  • Health Promotion Programs, 5%
  • Health Fairs, 5%
  • Program Development, 4%
  • Wellness Programs, 4%

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