Health Promotion Courses

Health promotion is about equipping people with the knowledge to improve their physical and mental health. It’s a vital practice, especially in developing countries where education isn’t as widespread. Postgraduate study has students engaging with contemporary issues in health promotion, effective communication, need assessment and everything else they may require in a future career in health promotion.

Humans didn’t have much of an issue with disease for thousands of years. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle left no time for disease to spread via contaminated water supplies or waste. It wasn’t until the advent of agriculture that human settlements became possible and so too disease. Lack of sanitary practices lead to cities across Europe becoming figuratively and literally plagued with contagions. The Bubonic Plague is a famous example, or the Plague of Justinian between 551 - 552 CE before that.

Health promotion and the broader discipline of public health keep these sorts of tragedies from happening again. With a combination of modern medicine and excellent marketing tactics, people around the world are made far safer than their unfortunate ancestors.

Is health promotion for me?

Health promotion is for excellent communicators who have a great deal of empathy for the sick and at-risk. It requires constant innovation to reach people in potentially remote communities. If you’re the sort of person willing to rise to this challenge, you could have a very rewarding career in health promotion.

Study pathway

Postgraduate health promotion is available up to master level, with graduate certificates and diplomas being available for shorter durations of study.

The University of Wollongong and similar institutions offer graduate certificates to students who want an entry-level knowledge of the discipline, taking six months of full time study to complete, or up to one year part time. Students can expect to learn about health promotion methodology, research, policy and competencies. These courses are excellent for students from other disciplines, as they only require a bachelor degree of any kind to enter.

Graduate diplomas offer a more extensive option, taking one year of full time study to complete or up to two years part time. Institutions like Deakin University also offer these across disciplines, with entry requirements consisting only of a bachelor degree, graduate certificate or three years work experience in a relevant field. These courses consist of units in needs assessment, human rights and equity, health program evaluation and more in addition to the fundamentals covered in a graduate certificate.

Master programs like those offered by the University of the Sunshine Coast offer exceptional knowledge on the subject, taking two years of full time study to complete, or up to four years part time. These courses offer huge amounts of detail, with mandatory units in epidemiology, biostatistics, health promotion and implementation strategies, behavioural health, quantitative research methods and much more. Applicants are accepted from all disciplines so long as they hold a bachelor degree, but coming from a cognate discipline can shorten completion time to one and a half years.

Employment options

Health promotion officer

Employment as a health promotion officer can be very fulfilling. The World Health Organisation is at the forefront of this field, gathering health statistics and providing knowledge and resources to struggling communities around the world. They are an employer to aspire for when graduating from this discipline.

There are also companies dedicated to a few or just one aspect of health, like Australia’s Heart Foundation. These charities are funded in majority by donations from the public, revealing how important their cause is to people across the country. A career working at places like this can prove rewarding while saving lives.

Health educator

These professionals are similar to health promotion officers, only they serve smaller communities by developing plans specific to them. They can provide training to other health workers, supervise the implementation of health programs, help people discover new sources of health information, analyse data to see what campaigns are working and a lot more. Companies like Life Education and Healthilyfunction through the efforts of skilled health educators.