Principles and Foundations of Health Promotion and Education

Randall R. Cottrell is professor and program coordinator in the Public Health Studies program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Cincinnati. Cottrell has served as President of the American Association for Health Education and served on the Board of the Society for Public Health Education. He is currently on the Board of the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education and the North Carolina Public Health Foundation. In 2011, Dr. Cottrell was named a Fulbright Scholar and spent six months teaching and conducting research at Zhejiang University in China. He has authored several books, many with co-author James McKenzie.  

James T. Girvan is an emeritus professor and former dean in the College of Health Sciences at Boise State University. During his career in higher education, Dr. Girvan has taught 14 different courses in the field of health promotion and public health and was honored for teaching excellence and distinguished community service at both Idaho State University and Boise State University. In addition, he was honored as Idaho Higher Education Administrator of the Year and received the Idaho Health Care Hero Award. He served as lead investigator for several extensive research projects in health policy and health promotion and received approximately 4.2 million dollars in external funding over his career. Girvan served as a member of both the Idaho Governor's Task Force on Health Workforce and Education and the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho Board of Directors. For several years, he was a reviewer for the Journal of Health Education and the American Journal of Public Health.

Denise Seabert, PhD, has been preparing health teachers and providing in-service trainings for teachers and other school personnel for more than 20 years. Currently she is associate dean and professor in the College of Health at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Seabert has served the profession as a member of NCHEC’s Division Board for Certified Health Education Specialists, as past Associate Editor–Teaching Techniques for the Journal of School Health, and on the American School Health Association Board of Directors. She received her BAEd in School Health Education from Western Washington University, MS in School and College Health from Indiana University, and PhD in Health Behavior with a minor in Curriculum from the University of Florida.

Caile E. Spear, PhD, MCHES works with all Health Education and Promotion students in the Department of Community and Environmental Health at Boise State University. Dr. Spear was the 2013 President of American Association of Health Education, served on the Society of Public Health Education Board of Trustees, and is a past member of the NCHEC Division Board for Certification of Health Education Specialists. She is currently serving her second time as the Faculty-in-Residence for the Health Professions Living and Learning Community.

James F. McKenzie is a Professor at Penn State–Hershey and a Professor Emeritus at Ball State University, and is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES). He is also Fellow of the American Association for Health Education and a Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Public Health Education.

1. A Background for the Profession

2. The History of Health and Health Education/Promotion

3. Philosophical Foundations

4. Theories and Planning Models

5. Ethics and Health Education/Promotion

6. The Health Education Specialist: Roles, Responsibilities, Certifications, and Advanced Study

7. The Settings for Health Education/Promotion

8. Agencies, Associations, and Organizations Associated with Health

9. The Literature of Health Education/Promotion

10. Future Trends in Health Education/Promotion

Appendix A. Development of a Unified Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession

Appendix B. Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis 2015 (HESPA) - New Competencies