Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

Health educators have many responsibilities, including community education, assessment program development, evaluation, research, health policy and grant writing. Health educators in Egypt do not participate in all these activities, but they mostly do participate in essential activities such as community education. The health educators in Egypt get training and preparation on topics such as addiction, women’s health, chronic diseases, and the skills needed for teaching.

This study investigated the perceptions of health educators and their supervisors about how well they believe their training and preparation has prepared them to work with health clients in Alexandria, Egypt. The study includes interviews with 11 health educators and four supervisors, all from different parts of Alexandria. The interview questions covered topics such as the way the health educators were prepared, what they studied, whether they apply everything they have learned, if they think the preparation was enough, and how they perceive themselves in performing their role as a health educator.

The results showed that most of the health educators claimed that they were getting good preparation. There is no specific educational program or curriculum that health educators follow to be prepared for their jobs. Health educators do get workshops and trainings from the Ministry of Heath throughout the year on different topics based on the interests of their community. However, results of the study showed that they do not agree on a common goal for their role as health educators. In the interviews, health educators indicated that they want more training. They also stated that they are lacking places to give health education classes, and that they are facing a resource constraints in running health education programs.

Pages

1-52

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