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IHS health educators are Public Health Educators. They do a great deal of
networking with tribal departments, schools, BIA, county health departments, etc. They are
also expected to take a broad view of health education; for example, they often develop
programs for a wide variety of health promotion/disease prevention issues.
The health educators—both IHS and tribal—provide a number of different services under the
following categories:
Didactic education
This may be given to individuals, families, schools, identified community groups or large
segments of the community. It may be in the form of one-on-one discussions, group
presentations, classes, workshops, dissemination of pamphlets (either from other agencies or
developed by the health educator for their own community), video presentations, newspaper
articles, radio spots, etc. This education may be on a wide variety of topics, from the
prevention, treatment or clinical manifestations of specific diseases, to good nutrition,
to safety issues, parenting, self-esteem, etc. Presentations may be given in many settings,
from the hospital or clinic to Head Start, other schools, elderly feeding programs, WIC, etc.
Specific events
These are usually arranged and implemented by the health educator, both for the purpose of
educating and often, of experiencing lifestyle change. They include runs and walks for
specific events (e.g., Red Ribbon Week, Hospital Week, Youth Day), conferences, health fairs,
bike safety fairs, "mini-Olympics" for preschoolers, environmental clean-up days, etc.
Ongoing programs
These are established by health educators as a means of involving community members in
lifestyle change that will lead to better health. These may be in the form of such things
as: teen or new mother parenting classes; school programs that involve both children and
mothers in physical activity & nutrition; development of videos on various health-related
topics that feature tribal members; gardening projects; tribal radio programs; regular
physical activity programs; after-school
programs; assisting communities in developing work groups to address various health & wellness
related issues; etc.
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Contact Information
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• (602) 364-5158
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Did you know ...
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• our health educators usually have a masters degree in Public Health?
• most of their time is spent in the communities that they serve, not in the
hospital or clinic?
• we do not have reports and statistics specifically on health education?
Please contact the service unit or tribe directly.
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