Physical Activity and Public Health Specialist Certificate Course
The field of physical activity is a critical component in public health. The Physical Activity Alliance (PAA) has developed, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recommended essential competencies for staff assigned to physical activity efforts that will lead to improved public health. The set has been revised and expanded, in partnership with the American College of Sports Medicine® (ACSM), which calls them Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). A competent physical activity practitioner should be in a position to review and provide advice on all physical activity initiatives to ensure they are consistent, based on best-available evidence, coordinated with each other and likely to be effective.
Recommended Reading (not required, but strongly recommended for the course final assessment):
Foundations of Physical Activity and Public Health by Harold W. Kohl III, Tinker D. Murray, et al. Course costs do not include the recommended reading and ACSM does not provide any discounts for this book. Several options for purchase are listed below:
- Human Kinetics Digital Version: Foundations of Physical Activity and Public Health 3rd Edition HKPrope – Human Kinetics
- Human Kinetics Print Verison: Foundations of Physical Activity and Public Health 3rd Edition With HK – Human Kinetics
- Amazon (New, Used, Digital): Foundations of Physical Activity and Public Health: 9781718224001: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com
Learning Objectives
- Understand how the emergence of the new field of physical activity and public health has occurred where the disciplines of public health and kinesiology overlap
- Understand and be able to explain the health effects (and risks) of physical activity on chronic conditions, including cardiorespiratory and metabolic diseases, overweight and obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, functional health, cancers, and mental health
- Understand and be able to explain the adverse effects of physical activity
- Understand and explain common testing methods, evidence for the benefits of physical activity and recommendations for physical activity promotion for populations
- Understand, plan, and develop and evaluate evidence-based strategies for increasing physical activity, including informational, behavioral and social, and environmental and policy approaches
