Public health training in physical education curricula: A current portrait +

Abstract

This study presents a national analysis of higher education in Public Health in the undergraduate schools of Physical Education of public universities. We carried out a document analysis of curricular structures, syllabuses and programs of courses offered by these universities, evaluating the contents, practical insertion in SUS, and the workload in Public Health. We analyzed 173 active and regular undergraduate curricula from 87 public institutions and gaps were found in health education: When mandatory, Public Health courses are presented as isolated components; content related to biological sciences predominates; they have limited hours and lack insertion in and dialogue with health services of SUS. Some curricular proposals have been identified that advance in health education, but still in a very timid way, especially in view of the urgency that the new reality resulting from the pandemic of COVID-19 demands from health courses.