Health promotion practitioner

Health promotion practitioners improve the public’s health by increasing our understanding of healthy lifestyles and issues as diet, exercise, alcohol, drugs and sexual health. They give advice and information to individuals and community groups, using methods such as presentations, exhibitions and social networking sites. They work with groups to plan and put into practice health policies.

Also known as:

Health education specialist

Work activities

Health promotion practitioners plan, put into practice and evaluate ways to promote health and wellbeing in their local area. They might have to research data about health inequalities in their region and compare it to national averages. This can give them the evidence that they need to do something in their local area to improve health. They also need to decide how to best find out about health in their community. For example, they might design surveys and questionnaires to find out about people’s awareness of health, or their diet and exercise habits and behaviours. They will also talk to local health managers and practitioners, community and voluntary sector organisations and employers. They read reports and examine statistics to build up their knowledge of the local area’s health and any related health inequalities information.

Some communities have particular problems, such as a higher than national average rates of heart disease. This could be because of a lack of awareness about diet and exercise, or poor availability of fresh fruit and vegetables. The practitioner must then plan how best to tackle the problem and select target groups within the community who are most at risk. Planning health promotion activities will involve working with organisations such as local authorities, the NHS, GP practices, businesses, schools, community groups and voluntary organisations. It will also involve understanding and working across different settings. Health promotion practitioners get involved in areas such as housing, education, transport and the environment, which all have an impact on our health. Many health promotion practitioners work in particular areas of health, including mental health, sexual health, drugs and alcohol, smoking, food availability, children’s health or the health of older people. Others have a more general role. For example, a practitioner in the area of sexual health might visit schools and youth groups to raise awareness about issues such as teenage pregnancy, or HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As part of a mental health campaign, practitioners might work with schools to develop effective policies for dealing with bullying (which might have an effect on mental health because it can lead to depression or panic attacks, for example). They will also be aware of national initiatives and how they could develop these within a school setting to prevent problems. Health promotion is all about enabling individuals to gain the skills and knowledge they need to make healthy choices. Helping to increase the ability of individuals and communities to make healthy choices is known as “capacity building”. As well as direct involvement with the public, health promotion practitioners advise and train others to deliver health education, including GP, health visitors, social workers and teachers. Health promotion practitioners usually have to travel throughout the local area.

Personal qualities and skills

To be a health promotion practitioner, you’ll need:

Enthusiasm and self-motivation.
The ability to communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds.
An understanding of the needs of different groups within local communities.
Knowledge of the workings of local NHS Trusts, local authorities, GP, and various voluntary and community groups.
Research skills to identify needs and set priorities for health programmes.
Administrative and project management skills, for example, to organise campaigns and events.
Creativity and written skills to produce leaflets, posters, web pages and other promotional material.

Pay and opportunities

Health promotion practitioners tend to earn between £24,000 and £45,000 and can expect to work between 38 and 40 hours per week. They may have early starts, late finishes and weekend work, especially when there are special events to organise or go to.

Employers include NHS Trusts, local authorities and the voluntary sector. Opportunities for health promotion practitioners occur in towns and cities throughout the UK. Practitioners based in towns and cities might deliver health promotion services in nearby rural areas.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on the NHS Jobs website, in local/national newspapers, on local authority websites, and job boards.

Entry routes and training

To become a health promotion practitioner, you’ll usually need to be a graduate. Entry can also be possible through a health-related foundation degree. Although employers often don’t specify degree subjects, relevant areas include health promotion, social sciences, food sciences and nutrition, psychology and biological sciences. Entry is also possible with a professional qualification in a related area, such as nursing, health visiting, teaching, social or community work, or medicine. Generally, employers will look for someone who has gained skills and knowledge through at least some experience of health promotion or related work. This could include voluntary experience. You’re likely to need a postgraduate qualification for posts that involve responsibility for projects or other staff, or where the work is at a more strategic level. You might need a postgraduate qualification to enter some other posts.

You’ll usually be encouraged to take a postgraduate qualification in health promotion, for example, after working in a post for a year. Progression could be into a management role. You could also specialise in a particular area of health promotion.

You could also enter this role through an apprenticeship. The level 6 public health practitioner programme is a degree apprenticeship providing you with on-the-job training in the role as well as time to work towards a relevant university qualification.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: Posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults are exceptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

Although employers often don’t specify degree subjects, relevant areas include health promotion, social sciences, food sciences and nutrition, biological sciences, education, nursing, social work and community work. Entry requirements for degree courses vary depending on the university and subject. Generally, the usual minimum is:

Two to three A-levels.
GCSEs at grades 9-4 in your A-level subjects.
A further two to three GCSEs at grades 9-4.

Alternatives to A-levels include:

Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 Nationals
International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

However, course requirements vary, so please check prospectuses carefully. For some posts, you’ll also need a postgraduate qualification in health promotion.

To get onto a degree apprenticeship, you will need to have two relevant A-levels plus GCSEs in English and maths. A-levels in subjects such as biology may be useful.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Relevant experience is in areas such as teaching, psychology, the health service, community or social work.

If you don’t have the qualifications you need to enter a relevant degree course, you might be able to start one after completing a college or university Access course, for example, Access to Science. You don’t usually need any qualifications to start an Access course, although you should check this with the course provider.

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