Coalition of National Health Education Organizations

The Coalition of National Health Education Organizations (CNHEO), established in 1972, currently has a membership of ten professional health education organizations. It exists to advance the profession of health education and to foster communication, collaboration and action on issues important to health and health education. Recent accomplishments include two invitational conferences to assess the status of health education and set goals and recommendations for the 21st century, Health Education Advocacy Summit, Health Education Advocate web site, Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession, Standard Occupational Classification of “health educator” by the federal government, and collaboration to promote National Health Education Week. Information can be found at the CNHEO website, http://www.hsc.usf.edu/CFH/cnheo/

Professional Development through Planning for and/or Participating in and Accreditation/Approval Review

The quality of delivery of health education services is connected to landmark events in the history of health education. Quality assurance is one type of professional development in which practicing health education specialists engage. This article presents the steps of an accreditation/approval process, brief overviews of the major accreditation/approval systems, and the opportunities within the accreditation/approval process for professional development