Local and State Problems in Health Education

Abstract

California has a long and proud history of accomplishment in the field of public health education. I t has a reputation, shared with only a few states, of being in the vanguard of this field, and has contributed much leadership in the form of both programs and personalities. One of our strengths is the many good health education programs we have at the local level, and I refer specifically to local health departments. Local public health departments are autonomous in California and it has not been possible, nor would it have been desirable, for our Bureau of Health Education to mandate programs or procedures to these county health education units. But the Bureau has, historically, been active in assisting local health departments in developing health education units, and then in providing technical assistance and consultation to those units. Today, 25 of California’s most populous counties have health education units within their local health departments. These units employ a total of 166 health education personnel, including all levels of professional education, and they serve 92.7 percent of California’s 20 million citizens. In the main, these local health education units are very good and they perform very valuable functions within their communities. They are not without problems, however, and there are many unmet needs at the local level. I won’t go into detail on these needs, but I would like to say that in addition to the obvious and ubiquitous needs for more staff and more money, the local health education units frequently express the need for guidance and assistance in such areas as health education program planning and evaluation, supervision of staff, and training and utilizing newer types of health education personnel. A very valuable mechanism for meeting this need has been the California Conference of Local Directors of Health Education. This Conference was established in 1963, as an affiliate of the California Conference of Local Health Officers. The Conference of Local Directors of Health Education is a creation of the State Health Department and is run by local Health education directors. I t establishes its own rules, forms its own operating committees, and plans and conducts its own annual meetings. Through its annual sessions and the work and programs of its committees, the Conference has been a valuable tool for the exchange of information, for the coordination of efforts in specific program areas, for the sponsorship of inservice training programs, and for many other useful purposes.