Increasing physical activity among U.S. populations is a public health priority. Lack of physical activity has been associated with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, overweight, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, and certain cancers (1).

In 1996, the first U.S. Surgeon General's report on physical activity was released, highlighting the association between physical activity and health (2). Since the release of this report, increasing emphasis has been placed on physical activity. In 2000 physical activity was given emphasis for the first time in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (3), and in 2005 the new MyPyramid continued to include physical activity recommendations (4). The Guide to Community Preventive Services for physical activity was released in 2001, containing systematic reviews of effective population-based physical activity interventions (5).

The increasing emphasis on the importance of physical activity coupled with the increasing evidence base for effective strategies to increase physical activity has created a need to translate what is known about effective interventions into the skills practitioners need to put the evidence into practice.

Since 1996, the Physical Activity and Public Health (PAPH) Course, which includes the Practitioner's Course on Community Interventions, has been offered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center to address this gap in public health expertise (6). Participants in the practitioner's course have been affiliated with colleges and universities, state departments of health, and many other organizations such as hospitals, local health departments, nonprofit organizations, private foundations, research institutes, and federal government agencies (6). However, participation is limited to 25 practitioners each year; the cost to attend (approximately $1300) also limits participation. As a result, this highly successful course, designed to address a critical gap, has limited impact on local physical activity practitioners.

Using the objectives of the PAPH Course as a starting point, the Physical Activity and Health Branch (PAHB)Using the objectives of the PAPH Course as a starting point, the Physical Activity and Health Branch (PAHB) in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at CDC established five benchmarks, outlining the areas of training and technical assistance that state health departments need to address to improve their capacity to promote physical activity among the public: 1) develop and sustain effective partnerships; 2) use public health data as a tool to develop and prioritize community-based interventions; 3) understand and implement a sound approach to planning and evaluation; 4) implement evidence-based strategies at the informational, behavioral, and social and environmental policy levels; 5) and develop an organizational structure that contributes to program growth and sustainability by encouraging and supporting professional development and fostering successful collaborations within and outside the health department (7). Building on these benchmarks, a set of core competencies, specific to physical activity and public health practice, were developed by the National Society of Physical Activity Practitioners in Public Health (NSPAPPH) (8).

Building state and local infrastructure with the capacity to address the underlying causes of chronic disease is challenging (9), one of the challenges being to address the various educational backgrounds of community-based physical activity practitioners. Many of these individuals may have training in physical activity or public health but not adequate training in both. A well-trained public health workforce is essential if public health research is to have a tangible impact on populations (6). Using these benchmarks to create professional development opportunities that focus on the core competencies will increase the capacity of local physical activity and public health practitioners.

To increase the capacity of local community-based physical activity professionals and to overcome the barriers many may experience to attend the PAPH Course, the Physical Activity and Nutrition (PAN) Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health, in partnership with the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, developed a state-based version of the PAPH Course, called the Move More Scholars Institute (MMSI). This paper will describe the planning of, implementation of, and response to the MMSI course.

The development of the MMSI was guided by an expert advisory committee made up of representatives from Active Living by Design, the PAPH Course, the North Carolina Division of Public Health, UNC at Chapel Hill, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The goal was to develop a course modeled after the PAPH Course, with a curriculum specific to North Carolina that addressed current and future trends of community-based physical activity initiatives. The resulting MMSI is an intensive 4-day training for community-based physical activity professionals in North Carolina. It is the first state-specific course modeled from the PAPH Course, integrating the core competencies established by the NSPAPPH. The inaugural MMSI was held in spring 2006. The PAN Branch plans to offer the MMSI annually, pending the availability of funding.

Objectives for the MMSI were to increase the capacity of community-based physical activity professionals to 1) use public health data and scientific information as tools to develop and prioritize community-based interventions; 2) use evidence-based and promising practice methods to implement community-based physical activity interventions and communicate physical activity messages; 3) understand the key components in a sound approach to evaluation; and 4) understand active living concepts.

The course was designed to support the statewide partnership effort in North Carolina called Eat Smart, Move More…North Carolina (10). This effort encourages people to eat healthfully and be physically active by creating policies, practices, and environments that promote and support these behaviors. The MMSI strengthens this effort through a curriculum focused on evidence-based interventions, including developing policies and environments to promote and support physical activity.

The infrastructure to address physical activity varies by state, but the need to increase the capacity of local community-based practitioners to address physical activity as a public health priority is consistent throughout the country. A successful model has been created to address professional development needs of physical activity practitioners working in public health through the PAPH Course. Additionally, a core set of competencies has been developed by the NSPAPPH. Modifying the PAPH Course, integrating the core competencies, and incorporating state-specific content creates a professional development opportunity that is immediately relevant to the needs of local practitioners and that enhances statewide efforts to promote and support physical activity. Through the MMSI, North Carolina took steps to strengthen its local infrastructure by providing a professional development opportunity for local community-based physical activity professionals. The PAN Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health plans to seek funding to offer the course annually.