Volume 30, Issue 6: December, 2003

Abstract

Illuminating the MPH Health Educator Workforce: Results and Implications of an Employer Survey

Leonard J. Finocchio, DrPH, Mary Beth Love, PhD, and Emma V. Sanchez, MPH

The public health workforce has been studied but not health educators specifically. The development of a Master of Public Health (MPH) in community health education inspired research to illuminate the San Francisco MPH health educator labor market. A time-series survey of an employer panel was con ducted between 1995 and 1999 regarding the number of MPH health educators on staff, hiring projections, and importance of selected competencies. In the San Francisco Bay area, there were four MPH health educators per 100,000 per sons in 1999. The majority worked in local health departments and community-based organizations. Although hiring was largely replacement in the late 1990s, employers anticipated an increase in hiring from 2000 to 2004. Employers reported that educational preparation was adequate, although preparation in specific competencies, such as bilingual competence, was lacking. These results suggest a favor able labor market for MPH health educators in the San Francisco Bay area.