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Health Education Specialists

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

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A look at the work

  • Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
  • Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care.
  • Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs.
  • Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted.
  • Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.
  • Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop goals for meeting needs.
  • Develop, conduct, or coordinate health needs assessments and other public health surveys.
  • Supervise professional and technical staff in implementing health programs, objectives, and goals.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.7 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

5.3 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.5 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

6.2 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.2 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.0 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2019-08

4.1 / 5

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

2019-08

4.1 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2019-08

4.1 / 5

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

2019-08

4.0 / 5

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

2019-08

3.9 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2019-08

3.9 / 5

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2019-08

3.8 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2019-08

3.8 / 5

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

2019-08

3.6 / 5

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

2019-08

3.4 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 4 of 5 · 2019-08. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Health Communication →

Health and Wellness, General →

Dental Public Health and Education →

Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling →

Public Health, General →

Public Health Education and Promotion →

Maternal and Child Health →

International Public Health/International Health →

Behavioral Aspects of Health →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 21-1091.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.