CHES Responsibility Areas and Code of Ethics - Report Example

CHES Responsibility Areas of Ethics Summary of the CHES seven areas of responsibility The Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) national certification examination focuses on Seven Areas of Responsibility. The Seven Areas of Responsibility set the overall framework for practice in health education by healthcare education specialists (NCHEC, SOPHE and AAHE, 2010). The first area of responsibility for a health educator is in assessing individual and community needs, assets and capacity for health education. The process of assessment requires planning. This involves identifying existing and required resource, engaging stakeholders and applying models to a given planning strategy to develop an evaluation plan. For a successful evaluation, a health educator may need to identify health-related data sources. Sources may include existing databases or health-related literature. Then the health educator should apply quantitative and qualitative methods to collect health-related data. From this data, health educators should examine factors that compromise health, influence the learning process and affect the process of health education. The final process of assessment involves the analysis and reporting on the assessment findings. In every country in the world, health needs remain largely unique. A health educator may need to perform assessments periodically on the current health situation in the country. By identifying emerging health issues, educators can give better quality and relevant health education to a particular target population. The second area of responsibility involves planning of effective healthcare programs. A health educator needs first to identify the target population and stakeholders. On identification, the health educator should develop effective communication channels for the collaboration, commitments and help of stakeholders and the target population. The assessments results will be critical in identifying desired outcomes of the plan. From the assessment plan together with input from stakeholders, health educators should establish goals and objectives of the proposed health education program. From these goals and objectives, strategies are developed. The strategies help in the setting up of the scope and sequence of delivery of health literacy. Planning will also involve the evaluating of factors that affect implementation of healthcare programs. The credibility and acceptance of a health care program will depend on the level of input from stakeholders and the priority population in the planning process. A program developed in one country may not necessarily be successful in another country. This is because the objectives and goals that inform strategies to be used are not developed with the help of the target population and its stakeholders. Upon assessing the required needs and planning for health education programs, the third area of responsibility is in the implementation of health literacy programs. However, before launching the program, the readiness for execution and collection of baseline data should be done. The main aim of this is to have a full understanding of the target population as well as any cultural or language barriers that need to be eliminated. A health educator should then develop a strategy to deliver a plan of action and be involved in promoting the plan of action in suitable media. On the implementation of the plan, progress should be monitored and assessed according to a set timeline. Health educators should modify the plan of action as needed. The individuals who are to be involved in implementing the health education program should undergo training using best practices. Training is after careful selection of the individuals and identifying their training needs. This training requires evaluation so as to inform future training. The process of implementation requires knowing how the cultures and customs of the target population may affect the implementation of a healthcare program. In Africa, most cultures believe curses to be the cause of illness in the community. In such a scenario, a program that upsets such cultural norms in the education of the community in causes of ill health may not be very successful. The fourth area of responsibility for health education specialists is in evaluating and researching on the effectiveness of health education. For effective evaluation, health educators should first develop a research/evaluation plan. This plan should have a clear purpose statement. On developing an assessment plan, tools to be used in the evaluation are identified, and their reliability is established. Then data based on the evaluation can then be gathered and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative statistical methods. The research findings should be compared to other related findings during interpretation of the data. Possible limitations of the results are also identified. From this evaluation, health educators can then apply the results in policy analysis and program development. Findings can also be disseminated to other educators in professional conference presentations. The single way to gauge the effectiveness of an implemented healthcare program is by evaluating it (Grembowski, 2001). For example, if a program is not evaluated through conducting of interviews or house-to-house surveys, health educators may find that the program is only reaching part of the target population. The administration and management of health education are the fifth responsibility of health educators. For a successful health program, coordinating provision of health education is critical to the success of a healthcare program. These administrative and management tasks can be carried out at all levels of healthcare education specialists. Tasks may be in management of fiscal resources or in setting up of program support strategies. At all levels, health education specialists should demonstrate leadership and be able to manage the human resources they supervise. Administration may also involve in educators identifying potential partners and facilitating their support of health education. An example is a program that has limited funding and under management of an inexperienced health education specialist. In this case, the program will fail if the health educator lacks skills or experience in budgeting and managing resources. Health education specialists have the responsibility of serving as health education resource people. Their responsibility is by disseminating health-related information, provision of training and serving as consultants in health education. Health educators should be able to evaluate and select the most appropriate health-related content for a given target population or stakeholders. Health educators should also provide training and assist in health education whenever they are required. The internet contains a trove of information on all fields. For example, if a health educator is not computer literate, his or her ability in disseminating relevant and accurate information in a timely and sensible manner will be limited. Lastly, a responsibility of health educators is in the communication and advocacy of health and health education needs, concerns and resources. Health educators should identify and prioritize current and emerging issues that influence heath and health education. On identification, health educators must develop a variety of communication strategies or methods tailored to the priority population. The communication methods must be valid. The message to be communicated must suit the target population. Health education specialists are also responsible for health education advocacy. Through advocacy, health educators influence policies that promote public health. This support should also help in improving the health education profession. The message communicated to the target population must be suitable for them. For example, if communication that contains a lot of scientific jargon is disseminated to the public, the intended message may not be understood. Summary of the health educators Code of Ethics The health educator’s code of ethics is a framework based on ethical principles that promotes the use of highest possible standards of conduct and ethical behavior in the professions in which Health Education is practiced (Brown et al., 1996). The first article is the responsibility of health educators in educating, promoting and improving the health of the public. In a scenario where health educators disregard the effects of industrial chemicals on the public, the practice would be unethical and not in line with the code of ethics. The second article is the responsibility of health educators to their profession. Health educators are often responsible for the reputation of the profession. For example, if a health educator has information of a colleague engaging in unethical behavior, it is their responsibility to report on them to relevant authorities. Another section of the code of ethics is on the responsibility of health educators in the delivery of health education. Educators should deliver health education that respects the rights and confidentiality of all. An example of unethical behavior would be a health educator discriminating on others due to their race. The code of ethics also contains the responsibility of health educators to employers. Health educators should always be professional in the workplace. If an educator is involved in bad-mouthing their employee, that will constitute as unethical behavior. Health educators also have a responsibility in research and evaluation. An example is research and evaluation that is against particular laws in their area of operation; then this would be against the code of ethics. The last article in the code of ethics is the responsibility of health educators in professional preparation. A health educator that does not give quality education to their trainees is acting unethically and against the health educator’s code of ethics. References Brown, K.M., Cissell, W., DuShaw, M., Goodhart, F., McDermott, R., Middleton, K., Tappe, M., and Welsh, V., (1996). The health education profession in the twenty-first century: Setting the stage. Journal of Health Education, 27(6), 357-364. Grembowski, D. (2001). The Practice of Health Program Evaluation. New York: Sage Publications National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC), Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), American Association for Health Education (AAHE). (2010). A competency-based framework for health education specialists - 2010. Whitehall, PA: Author. Read More