For those who may be considering both the CFLRI’s Physical Activity for Public Health course and the in motion National Physical Activity Institute and are not sure which event is for them, here are some Q and A’s about both events. For more detailed information, please contact the event managers:

PAPH: scragg @ cflri.ca

NAPI: Don Ratcliffe-Smith - dgr939@mail.usask.ca

What is the focus of the CFLRI’s Physical Activity
for Public Health and the inMotion National Physical Activity Institute? To whom are the two programs targeted? Which event is for me? Would there be overlap if I attended both? What topics are covered? Where can I find out more?

Q1 What is the focus of the CFLRI’s Physical Activity for Public Health and the inMotion National Physical Activity Institute?

In a nutshell, the in motion NPAI offers a practical hands-on community based approach while the CFLRI’s PAPH course offers a research-based approach to physical activity promotion. Both are needed to advance the cause of physical activity in Canada:

• CFLRI 's PAPH course provides an evidence-based national and international view of physical activity and public health from the individual to the population level. The research lectures are based upon the best available evidence from internationally and nationally recognized experts and published work. The CFLRI course presents the latest reviewed best practices and peer reviewed scientifically recognized successful interventions (e.g., Center for Disease Control: Community Guide to physical activity Interventions). Selected break out sessions follow the same approach to offering the latest information, but focusing on specific sub-populations. All sessions offer the opportunity for question and answer discussion. Sessions on promising newer areas that impact physical activity participation, such as the influence of the built environment on physical activity and active transportation are also offered. These new direction sessions orient delegates how to interpret whether the latest research is a basis for practice or is at the beginning stages of building evidence toward that end.

The inMotion institute includes discussion of the Canada in motion physical activity health promotion model, panel presentations and facilitated discussion groups focusing on the strategies and practical tools that can assist communities to become more physically active for health benefits. The emphasis will be on mobilizing a community, while addressing the needs of targeted populations.  Presenters are chosen based on their expertise in their fields and their ability to provide research/evaluated best practices. The inMotion institute provides a forum for networking and knowledge exchange among health promotion leaders in Canada. 

Q2 To whom are the two programs targeted?

Both events are targeted at a similar audience. However, the way they use the information from each one will be different.

PAPH is aimed at professionals involved in promoting physical activity including those working:

• At the municipal, provincial/territorial and federal levels
• In Non Governmental Organizations and Not for Profit agencies
• The health sector and health charities (health practitioners, nurses)
• Health promotion manager in health regions across the country
• Researchers and Graduate students
• Educators
• Transport systems managers
• Urban planners
• Recreation professionals

NPAI is geared toward:

• Health promotion practitioners
• Recreation and physical activity specialists
• Government, school and workplace leaders
• Health care providers, including physicians, nurses and physiotherapists
• Representatives from not-for-profit organizations
• Graduate and undergraduate students
• Social marketing professionals
• Researchers

Q3 Which event is for me?

PAPH is for you if you need to:

• Access the latest evidence-based public health data and scientific information and gain knowledge on how to translate this into policies, programs and actions
• Understand and use social marketing for physical activity programming
• Communicate the benefits of physical activity
• Learn from best practices and understand what works in individual policy and environmental physical activity interventions
• Develop and implement community partnerships and community level interventions
• Measure physical activity and programming success
• PAPH promotes ongoing interaction with its faculty who are there for the entire four days
• Network with like minded professionals
• Access internationally renowned researchers for the entire four day program.

NPAI is for you if you need to:

• Share ideas and resources with leaders in physical activity and health promotion from across Canada
• Access tools, resources and information on how to build partnerships, market your message, deliver appropriate programs and evaluate your initiatives..
• Learn innovative strategies on how to address target populations within a community based approach from nationally, and internationally, recognised presenters
• Join an in motion network of communities working towards similar goals of increasing physical activity levels for health benefits
• Network with like minded professionals

Q4 Would there be overlap if I attended both?

Not really. You will get very different and complementary information and skill sets from the two.

Q5 What topics are covered?

While detailed programs are offered on the websites, a brief comparison is offered here. The PAPH offers lectures on a diverse set of topics while the NPAI goes more in depth on targeting key populations.

PAPH Lecture Topics (in order of presentation)		NPAI Sessions (in order of presentation)
Why is physical activity a community wide priority?		Opening Remarks and Keynote Address: state of Physical Activity in Canada and the importance of mobilizing communities
Physical activity for the population		Overview of Canada in motion
How active are Canadians?		Building effective partnerships
Theories for programming		Marketing your physical activity message
Networking: What’s your Program?		Measuring the success of your community initiative
Principles of evaluation		The importance of targeting populations within a community based physical activity strategy
Physical activity measurement and monitoring		Strategies and tools to effectively mobilize the target population of early childhood and primary age children: followed by facilitated small group discussions
How to Make Sense of Published Papers: A Primer for Practitioners		Strategies and tools to effectively mobilize the target population of youth: followed by facilitated small group discussions
Individual change interventions		Strategies and tools to effectively mobilize the target population of adults and workplace strategies: followed by facilitated small group discussions
Community change interventions		Strategies and tools to effectively mobilize the target population of older adults: followed by facilitated small group discussions
Local planning
Break out session on children and youth
Break out session on Aboriginal populations
Break out session on older adults
Break out session of workplace physical activity interventions
Media support for physical activity
Liveable neighbourhoods and active communities
Policy advocacy
Using data to support the case

Q6 Where can I find out more?

Please visit the PAPH website or the NPAI website . Or contact the project managers directly. They would be happy to tell you more:

PAPH: Sue Cragg - scragg @ cflri.ca

NPAI: Don Ratcliffe-Smith - dgr939@mail.usask.ca