The United States National Physical Activity Plan: Is it Being Integrated into Exercise Science Curriculum -

Abstract

Purpose: No research has evaluated the extent to which exercise science graduate curriculum incorporates content from the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP). The purpose of this study was to examine awareness and utilization of the NPAP among university faculty. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study design was employed that surveyed University exercise science faculty; 60 Universities granting a doctoral degree in Kinesiology were sampled, with 13 ultimately providing data for this study. Three sectors within the NPAP were evaluated, which included: health care; education; and transportation, land use and community design. Results: One-hundred percent of evaluated faculty reported awareness of the U.S. NPAP. With regard to the Health Care and Education strategies, 100% included at least one strategy and 85% included at least one Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design strategy. The percentages indicating use of all strategies in each sector was much lower with 39% of institutions reporting use of all Health Care strategies, 23% reported use of all Education strategies, and 38% reporting use of all Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design strategies. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that while awareness of the NPAP among faculty is high, implementation is much lower.