title: Toward a unified system of accreditation for professional preparation in health education: final report of the National Task Force on Accreditation in Health Education.
abstract: During the past 40 years, health education has taken significant steps toward improving quality assurance in professional preparation through individual certification and program approval and accreditation. Although the profession has begun to embrace individual certification, program accreditation in health education has been neither uniformly available nor universally accepted by institutions of higher education. To further strengthen professional preparation in health education, the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and the American Association for Health Education (AAHE) established the National Task Force on Accreditation in Health Education in 2001. The 3-year Task Force was charged with developing a detailed plan for a coordinated accreditation system for undergraduate and graduate programs in health education. This article summarizes the Task Force's findings and recommendations, which have been approved by the SOPHE and AAHE boards, and, if implemented, promise to lay the foundation for the highest quality professional preparation and practice in health education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allegrante
authors.forename: Collins O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Airhihenbuwa
authors.forename: M Elaine
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Auld
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Roe
authors.forename: Becky J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000592:standards*; D026683:Advisory Committees / Q000458:organization & administration; D002568:Certification / Q000592:standards; D006266:Health Education / Q000592:standards*; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States