Athletic Training and Public Health Summit, August 27-29

June 3, 2015 by Todd Christman
The College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University is convening a summit from August 27-29 dedicated to promoting the integration of public health approaches into the practice of athletic training. Since the beginning of the profession, injury and illness prevention has been a hallmark of the work done by athletic trainers. Much of this work has, and continues to be, appropriately focused on the individual. However, many of the most pressing problems facing physically active children and adults- such as sport-related concussion, sudden cardiac death and osteoarthritis- require population-level approaches to maximize the effectiveness of prevention initiatives.

While athletic trainers are well-positioned in many of these problem areas to take leading roles in injury and illness prevention, they may be unfamiliar with how to successfully incorporate policy development, policy assessment and large-scale translation to practice initiatives into their work to facilitate maximal impact. The overarching goal of the Athletic Training & Public Health Summit (ATPHS) is to introduce athletic trainers to population health approaches using current issues as contextual backdrops for these lessons. 

The time is now for the profession of athletic training to move beyond the individual, and directly impact the health and well-being of entire populations. You are invited to the inaugural ATPHS so that you may take a leading role in integrating athletic training and public health practices! Conference and registration information is located at www.ATPHS.org. Space is limited and early registration ends July 17, 2015. 
 
NATA and the NATA Research & Education Foundation are founding sponsors for this event.

If you have any questions regarding the summit please contact Mark Hoffman, PhD, ATC (mark.hoffman@oregonstate.edu).