Abstract
Health continues to be a distinct advantage for the educated, correlating to differential access to preventive services and comprehensive healthcare. From a critical perspective, effective health education encourages lifelong health through personal, social, and political empowerment. Without attention to cultural issues that impact program planning, though, an ideology of health empowerment is insufficient to challenge inequities. We offer our experience of the breakdown of theory-to-practice, believing that critique of failure is an essential feature of reflective practice and improved educational programming. We challenge health educators to be constantly mindful of politics of partnerships that span diverse experiences and expectations.