The principal role physical activity plays in contemporary society is increasingly acknowledged from social, environmental and public health perspectives. Drawing from several disciplines this module will consider topical issues relating to the effectiveness of physical activity interventions across the life course on a range of health and wellbeing outcomes. It will explore how evidence-based physical activity initiatives and interventions in different environments and settings shape behaviour. It will review the value of school based physical activity interventions for children, how workplace settings can be used to facilitate activity and reduce sedentary behavior, how exercise settings (e.g. indoor vs. green exercise) can be used as a vehicle to drive behavioural change in adults, through to preventing falls and increasing activity levels in the elderly. There is a growing demand for practitioners to critically evaluate the current evidence-base and gain an understanding of how this knowledge can be translated to inform their applied professional practice. The module will afford opportunities to engage with cutting-edge research and develop transferable communication skills in translating research findings into evaluative reports that can be used and understood by a range of audiences (e.g. commissioners, stakeholders, policy makers, providers, users and the lay person). This module will be of particular interest to students pursuing a career in health promotion, public health, teaching, occupational health or the fitness and personal training industry.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module, the student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate understanding of the principles of evidence-based practice;
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the development and evaluation of interventions to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour across the life course;
3. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based physical activity interventions and how they can be used to inform professional practice;
4. Identify, synthesise and critically evaluate a range of evidence types of physical activity and health related information including research papers, government publications and assessments;
5. Demonstrate competence in data analysis, presentation and interpretation to translate research findings into an evaluative report to inform the wider public health agenda.
- Module Supervisor: Jo Barton