Origins
of the Competencies Update Project
The
national health educator Competencies Update Project (CUP)
was initiated in March 1998 by the National Commission
for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) as a
followup to the 1978-1981 Role Delineation Project. NCHEC
assumed the responsibility as the fiscal and administrative
organization for the research. The initial purpose of
the CUP was to determine the current role of entry-level
health educators by assessing what they do in practice.
During
April 1998, preliminary discussions took place at the
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and Dance (AAHPERD) national conference. During this preparatory
phase, it was determined that it would be important to
assess the validity of the recently-developed graduate
Competencies, later termed the advanced-level Competencies.
Because of the active support by NCHEC, the American Association
for Health Education (AAHE) and the Society for Public
Health Education (SOPHE) also assumed a major leadership
role in the research project. They contributed the highest
levels of support funding, and eventually became the copyright
holders for CUP.
In
order to have the project clearly viewed as research conducted
on behalf of the health education profession, as was intended
in the original Role Delineation Project, a CUP-identified
mailing address and Web site were established under the
auspices of NCHEC. In this manner, over the five-year
lifespan of CUP, health educators have engaged in
research and contributed their support to this
project, which was intended to impact professional
preparation, certification, and professional development.
