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.
Health promotion specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real health promotion specialist resumes:
- 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.
Health promotion specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Health Promotion Specialists are proficient in Public Health, Data Collection, and Health Promotion Programs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Instructional skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Health Promotion Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Public Health, 21%
Spearheaded and coordinated a stakeholder advisory committee of 7 individuals including community representatives and public health officials.
- Data Collection, 6%
Designed surveys and data collection tools to monitor client progress and track program quality.
- Health Promotion Programs, 5%
Coordinate and execute high-quality health promotion programs and seminars to address health and lifestyle risks of member populations in target groups.
- Health Fairs, 5%
Developed and advertised a calendar of events including monthly educational programs and an annual health fair.
- Program Development, 4%
Contributed to program development and delivery in the community, provider, and worksite settings.
- Wellness Programs, 4%
Served on several wellness committees helping companies to improve internal communication of wellness programming.
Common skills that a health promotion specialist uses to do their job include "public health," "data collection," and "health promotion programs." You can find details on the most important health promotion specialist responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a health promotion specialist to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "health education specialists collect and evaluate data to determine the needs of the people they serve." Additionally, a health promotion specialist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "researched childhood injury prevention strategies including injury data collection. "
Instructional skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling health promotion specialist duties is instructional skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health education specialists and community health workers lead programs, teach classes, and facilitate discussion with clients and families." According to a health promotion specialist resume, here's how health promotion specialists can utilize instructional skills in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated strong instructional and communication skills through health fairs and clinical topics. "
Interpersonal skills. health promotion specialists are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to health promotion specialist responsibilities, because "health education specialists and community health workers interact with many people from a variety of backgrounds." A health promotion specialist resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "encourage and coach individuals to make healthy lifestyle changes through use of motivational interviewing and strong interpersonal skills. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain health promotion specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a health promotion specialist rely on this skill, as "health education specialists and community health workers must think creatively about improving the health of the community." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what health promotion specialists do: "provided direction to grocery stores daily and resolved promotion discrepancies. "
The three companies that hire the most health promotion specialists are:
- Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic4 health promotion specialists jobs
- Columbia University in the City of New York2 health promotion specialists jobs
- Lancaster General Health1 health promotion specialists jobs
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Compare different health promotion specialists
Health promotion specialist vs. Community educator
Community Educators are responsible for organizing and improving access to training and education opportunities throughout a local community. Their duties include forming relationships with community groups, discovering local interests, develop service plans with education providers, and increase learning channels such as through classes, tutorials, and mentorship programs. They are responsible for sourcing project grants, managing education budgets, facilitating voluntary groups' growth, and conducting report assessment. Community Educators also carry out volunteer and staff training sessions.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between health promotion specialists and community educator. For instance, health promotion specialist responsibilities require skills such as "health promotion programs," "program development," "wellness programs," and "community health promotion." Whereas a community educator is skilled in "community outreach," "community education," "educational programs," and "health education." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Community educators really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $65,093. Comparatively, health promotion specialists tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $42,022.community educators tend to reach lower levels of education than health promotion specialists. In fact, community educators are 7.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Health promotion specialist vs. Diabetes educator
A Diabetes Educator helps improve the health condition of people who are at risk of developing diabetes. They collect patient data to monitor health status and manage the patients conditions.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real health promotion specialist resumes. While health promotion specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "public health," "data collection," "health promotion programs," and "program development," diabetes educators use skills like "patients," "cde," "patient care," and "diabetes self-management education."
On average, diabetes educators earn a higher salary than health promotion specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, diabetes educators earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $104,213. Whereas health promotion specialists have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $42,022.In general, diabetes educators achieve lower levels of education than health promotion specialists. They're 5.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for health promotion specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Jenny Deranek Ph.D.
Program Director & Clinical Assistant Professor, Indiana University South Bend
Health promotion specialist vs. Peer educator
Wellness Interns are students who grabbed the opportunity to take on-the-job training in a company. They are usually studying science and health-related courses, or even psychology courses. They major in courses related to wellness and the promotion of one's well-being. Wellness interns may be assigned to do administrative tasks. It is important that Wellness Interns are exposed to a variety of wellness-related activities. As such, they may be assigned to assist in wellness seminars, create wellness campaigns, work on presentation materials, and provide insights on wellness initiatives.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from health promotion specialist resumes include skills like "public health," "data collection," "health promotion programs," and "program development," whereas a peer educator is more likely to list skills in "community outreach," "alcohol awareness," "domestic violence," and "sexual assault prevention. "
When it comes to education, peer educators tend to earn lower degree levels compared to health promotion specialists. In fact, they're 16.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Health promotion specialist vs. Wellness internship
Types of health promotion specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
