Community health educator vs public health representative

The differences between community health educators and public health representatives 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 public health representative. Additionally, a public health representative has an average salary of $52,050, which is higher than the $43,889 average annual salary of a community health educator.

The top three skills for a community health educator include patients, public health and health promotion. The most important skills for a public health representative are patients, public health, and patient care.

Community health educator vs public health representative overview

	Community Health Educator	Public Health Representative
Yearly salary	$43,889	$52,050
Hourly rate	$21.10	$25.02
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	66,731	66,442
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

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 public health representative do?

Public Health Representatives, as a career choice, will require developed people skills, valuation of difference and diversity, creativity and adaptability, and analysis and interpretation of information. Most will have at least a bachelor's degree, and experience in other jobs can be a plus. Paying out at $53K per year, this career will necessitate collaboration with health specialists and civic groups to ascertain community health needs and services for meeting the said needs. They will also provide health education and needs assessment and health education development and delivery.

Community health educator vs public health representative salary

Community health educators and public health representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Community Health Educator	Public Health Representative
Average salary	$43,889	$52,050
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $59,000	Between $38,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	West Hollywood, CA	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	California	New Hampshire
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Boston	Santa Clara Valley Water District
Best paying industry	Government	Education

Differences between community health educator and public health representative education

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

	Community Health Educator	Public Health Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Health Education	Business
Most common college	University of Florida	University of Southern California

Community health educator vs public health representative demographics

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

	Community Health Educator	Public Health Representative
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 18.9% Female, 81.1%	Male, 26.8% Female, 73.2%
Race ratio	Black 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, 10.8% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	21%	21%

Differences between community health educator and public health representative 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.

Public health representative example responsibilities.

Authorize voluntary EAP services and initial outpatient manage care treatment.
Comply with CMS rules and regulation.
Develop successful referral program with key physicians' offices for Medicare eligible patients.
Conduct field investigations and direct observation therapy for persons expose to or infect with tuberculosis.
Verify eligibility with insurance and confirmed/start authorization for treatment as needed by the requirement of the individual patients plans.
Design new survey tool using qualitative and quantitative methods to monitor and evaluate quality of immunization programs at county health departments.

Community health educator vs public health representative 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 public health representative skills

Patients, 28%
Public Health, 18%
Patient Care, 6%
Strong Customer Service, 6%
Phone Calls, 5%
Data Collection, 5%

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Community Health Educator
Community Health Educator vs Public Health Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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