| Unit name | Physical Activity , Disease and Public Health |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHEDM4013 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Armstrong |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
This unit will critically review the role of inactivity in the aetiology of disease and the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of disease, highlighting the different roles of physical activity at different life stages. The unit will review key issues in identifying the optimal physical activity recommendation for public health, enabling you to understand the links between physical activity and health for people of all ages and across a range of lifestyles and backgrounds. This unit also contains a parallel theme related to communicating your science with the lay public, thereby developing a wider range of transferable skills valued by future employers.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
PADPH is the second unit of the course to focus on examining the evidence base for the role of lifestyle factors (in this case, physical activity) in the prevention and management of chronic disease. It will develop your understanding of why we should be concerned about physical activity behaviour in relation to health.
An overview of content
This unit will critically review the role of inactivity in the aetiology of disease and the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of disease, highlighting the different roles of physical activity at different life stages. The unit will review key issues in identifying the optimal physical activity recommendation for public health, enabling you to understand the links between physical activity and health for people of all ages and across a range of lifestyles and backgrounds. This unit also contains a parallel theme related to communicating your science with the lay public, facilitating your development of a wider range of skills valued by future employers.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will have gained new subject specific knowledge in relation to the relationships between physical activity, disease, and public health. You will have also gained new transferable skills in critically communicating science with a lay audience.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
Teaching will be via face-to-face interactive lectures, workshops, and small group work activities where you will work together to discuss various topics and feedback to the wider group, occasionally through brief presentations. Asynchronous materials are also provided to prepare for some face-to-face sessions. A practical session on physical activity measurement will highlight important aspects to consider in hands on data collection through self-discovery and critical review.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare for your summative tasks (formative):
A flipped classroom task where students work in small groups with each group assigned a different paper on a broad topic relevant to the unit e.g. the associations between sedentary behaviour and health. They will critically appraise the paper and prepare a short presentation which will be presented to the wider class. The lecturer will provide verbal feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
A one-page infographic to present the evidence for the role of physical activity in the prevention and/or management of a chronic disease, and a 1500-word lay critical summary of the evidence behind the infographic (100%)
This assessment covers all unit learning outcomes.
When assessment does not go to plan
Subject to the university regulations for taught programmes, you may be offered an opportunity for reassessment. This will comprise a task of the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHEDM4013).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
