Ethics of Health Education
Because of the importance that health education plays in our society, a health educator carries a significant amount of responsibility on their shoulders. Being a health educator is not a profession that can be done carelessly, you must be willing to give your all to the people that need you. What many people are unaware of is the fact that there is a code of ethics that a health educator must abide by, just so they never lose sight of how important health education is. Not putting in the effort as a health educator will not only reflect poorly on yourself, you will be failing the students that look to you for a thorough health education. Below you will find the main points that a health educator must follow in their code of ethics while providing the public with health education.
1. Responsibility to the public – Being a health educator, you are the bridge between the public and good health. You are able to change the lifestyles of your students and guide them toward good health. The health education that you are providing will contain information that they will be able to use for the rest of their lives, so this responsibility is definitely something that should be taken seriously. If you feel that you would not be able to handle this type of pressure, maybe being a health educator is not the profession for you.
2. Responsibility to the profession – The health education you provide to your students will affect many people other than yourself. When people see that a health educator is doing a great job, that is going to reflect well on your employer, the entire school or company you are working for, and the entire health education field. On the other side of that coin, if you are not putting your all into your position as a health educator, people will notice. You do not want people to lose faith in health education because you were not doing your job as well as you could have been. The most important thing here is that the public is provided with useful knowledge.
3. Responsibility in research and evaluation – These are very important parts of being a health educator. There is new information coming out in this field all the time and you need to make sure that you stay on top of it. Research must be done to see what is out there, what your students need, and how you can best impart your knowledge. Also, you need to evaluate yourself and how effective your approach to health education is. There is nothing wrong with changing the path you are on to better help your students.
This code of ethics is not there to scare anybody away from this occupation. It serves as a reminder of just how important this position is, and the responsibilities that come with providing the public with an education.
