Public Policy Involvement by Certified Health Education Specialists: Results of a National Study.

Background: Advocating for health-related activities is an essential part of being a health educator and knowing how to advocate is an important part of the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. However, based on previous research, there may be a gap between knowing how to and actually participating in public policy activities. The purpose of this study was to determine public policy involvement of CHES.

Method: Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 500 CHES (41% response rate).

Results: The highest selected public policy activities by CHES were the following: voting at an election (88.9%), contacting a public office (49%), and providing policy-related information (42.9%). The number of locations CHES individuals selected in having training on advocacy was a predictive factor in their confidence to perform advocacy. Positive correlations between perceived knowledge and effectiveness of the public policy process and self-reported involvement in public policy were found.

Conclusion: Although there is moderate self-reported involvement in public policy activities, more emphasis needs to be placed on raising the confidence of CHES to perform advocacy-related activities in the field.