Gun violence is a significant public health issue. The U.S. has more than one mass shooting a day in which four or more people are injured or killed. However, mass shootings are only the tip of the iceberg of gun violence. Among developed nations, the U.S. is an outlier in both gun possession and gun deaths. Gun deaths affect not only the victim…

The "American Journal of Health Education" (AJHE) has been published for over 50 years. Over time, the mission and goal of AJHE have evolved from a publication focused primarily on school health issues in the United States to an international journal focused on chronic disease, and related lifestyle factors, for health education and…

Healthy People 2030 has expressed the need for increased organizational health literacy. In order to support this growing effort, the Institute for Healthcare Advancement has developed 2 resources to help support health education professional development: (1) The Health Literacy Specialist Certificate Program as a rigorously designed professional…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the public health profession as a whole, but there is little evidence of the effects on the health education specialist (HES) field. Early publications show that HES shifted and adapted to COVID-19 priorities, but there is no data to track this over time. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to…

Background: Nutrition education materials are frequently used by health educators to inform consumers about quality food choices. However, evaluation of content-based factors that impact the consumer's ability to understand and act on nutrition information is lacking. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the content of a newly…

Using Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free policies on college and university campuses as an example this article discusses these initiatives in the context of the role of health educators and health education programs. Issues raised are ones that health educators need to consider in any intervention effort. While the importance of intervention is well…

Former college student-athletes encounter unique health-related challenges following athletic retirement. Many retired student-athletes adopt sedentary lifestyles that can lead to long-term health problems, while others struggle to maintain good mental health due to issues associated with resolving their own athletic identity. Retired…

Background: Health self-efficacy acts as a vital mediator in the causal pathway from awareness of self-management to self-care behaviors. However, little is known about the underlying predictors of this concept. Purpose: Guided by existing theories and models, this study tested the effects of patient-centered communication, emotional well-being,…

Background: College students have been a difficult population to reach in extant health promotion initiatives that strive to prevent the development of lifelong disordered eating patterns. Incorporating electronic and mobile health (eHealth, mHealth) technologies within these efforts may be an effective means of reaching students. Purpose: This…

Misleading health news and product advertising has plagued the United States since the 19th century. Companies and individuals spent large sums of money to advertise in a variety of media, including newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, and, more recently, the Internet. Preying on the fears and insecurities of consumers, these entities used…

This article provides a resourceful guide for the health education specialist to improve emergency management knowledge and skills specific to their setting, including training and preparing for emergencies and providing adequate support to students, clients, and colleagues. Five steps guide competent health education practice before, during, and…

More and more, health education specialists are integrating technology into their work. Whereas most are familiar with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, one relatively new form of social media, location based services (LBS), may be less familiar. Developed in 2000, LBS are software applications that are accessible from a…

Background: Environmental health, a crucial part of our everyday lives, is a multidisciplinary field with many discrepancies as to what encompasses the core areas. Purpose: This study intended to establish core areas and corresponding topics of environmental health as a preliminary step to identifying knowledge, attitude and behavior questions for…

The Coalition of National Health Education Organizations (CNHEO) established a task force in 2003 to design a marketing plan to promote the health education profession. Task force members decided that before developing a full-scale marketing plan to reach employers, they should learn more about employers' current knowledge and attitudes regarding…

Health education moved toward professionalization with the establishment, in 1988, of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. Today, there are approximately 8,000 active holders of the CHES credential. This article examines the compensation levels of CHES recipients in relation to their current position, employment setting…