Continuing-education needs of the currently employed public health education workforce.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the continuing-education needs of the currently employed public health education workforce. METHODS: A national consensus panel of leading health educators from public health agencies, academic institutions, and professional organizations was convened to examine the forces creating the context for the work of public health educators and the competencies they need to practice effectively. RESULTS: Advocacy; business management and finance; communication; community health planning and development, coalition building, and leadership; computing and technology; cultural competency; evaluation; and strategic planning were identified as areas of critical competence. CONCLUSIONS: Continuing education must strengthen a broad range of critical competencies and skills if we are to ensure the further development and effectiveness of the public health education workforce.

The credentialing of a population-based health profession: lessons learned from health education certification.

This article summarizes research and issues related to health education certification. Health education's experience with certification provides valuable insight for other public health professions because of the credential's population-based emphasis, its recent development, and its broadly defined cross-cutting skill set. Although data are still emerging on the outcomes of health education certification, most studies indicate that it has had a positive impact across multiple dimensions. Critical to this success has been providing profession-wide opportunities for input, communicating with key stakeholders, establishing an independent credentialing agency, and basing the credential on scientifically and legally defensible competencies that are linked to job responsibilities.

Report on Clinical Nutrition Research Units.

The National Institutes of Health support seven Clinical Nutrition Research Units, which are designed to create or strengthen nutrition research, training, and education through coordinated effort, intellectual stimulation, and use of shared resources. Research at the participating institutions focuses on the role of nutrition in cancer, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, digestive diseases, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and other illnesses. Contributing substantially to the development of this nutrition research base have been Clinical Nutrition Research Unit-supported pilot studies, core laboratories, and new investigators. In the clinical setting, Clinical Nutrition Research Unit Nutritional Support Services assist in the care of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition and those with anorexia nervosa, burns, cancer, and a spectrum of nutrition-related problems. Participation of Clinical Nutrition Research Unit staff in training activities range from undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate education courses for medical students and other health professionals to continuing education workshops, lecture series, and information programs for professional and lay audiences.