Public health educators' participation in teams: implications for preparation and practice.
Collaboration among public health organizations is essential to ensuring the health of the public. Much of the day-to-day work of public health educators is done in groups or teams or in consultation with others. This study examined the extent of health educators' work in teams as a proxy for collaboration. Health educators participated in an average of four teams per individual; three of these were interorganizational teams. Moreover, 40% of the respondents participated in five or more teams. Health educators supervised by other health educators were more likely to work in interorganizational teams than were those supervised by other professionals. Certified Health Education Specialists were more likely to participate in intraorganizational teams. Curricula in academic programs should reflect the extensive teamwork in which health educators are involved. Employers need to provide health educators with grounding in organizational priorities and support to carry out their collaborative work.
Lovelace
Kay A
KA
Department of Public Health Education, PO Box 26170, The University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27402-6170, USA. klovelace@uncg.edu
Bibeau
Daniel L
DL
Donnell
Brigid M
BM
Johnson
Hans H
HH
Glascoff
Mary A
MA
Tyler
Emily
E
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional; D005178:Faculty; D006266:Health Education; D040441:Health Educators; D006801:Humans; D015274:Interdepartmental Relations; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D017145:Models, Educational; D009657:North Carolina; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires