Studies and Research group in Physical Education and Collective Health (GEPEFSC): creation, achievements, and perspectives

Abstract

The broadened understanding of sport, which goes beyond high-performance sport and involves the practice of recreational activities, health promotion, and entertainment, as well as the understanding of the field of Collective Health from three fundamental nuclei (Epidemiology; Social and Human Sciences; and Policies, Planning, and Management) make it possible to bring Physical Education closer to Collective Health, in the search for knowledge, experiences and specific actions of Physical Education in Collective Health. In this context, the Physical Education and Collective Health Study and Research Group (GEPEFSC) at the School of Physical Education and Sport at the University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto (EEFERP-USP) was created and has been developing. GEPEFSC's trajectory is aligned with that of the group's leading professor and the efforts of the members, especially the first graduate students. The group has developed and grown healthily, due to the management of activities and demands on the different fronts of the group. In this regard, the aim of this experience report is to describe the activities carried out, those in progress, and their perspectives. The group, which was founded in August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has coordinated and participated in the management of important projects and actions on different fronts: teaching, research, extension at EEFERP-USP and extension through outside University actions, mainly in the Primary Health Care (PHC) services of the Unified Health System (SUS), but also in other possibilities in the territory of Ribeirao Preto, SP to promote physical activity and foster inclusion, belonging and integration. In addition, the group is registered with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and promotes fortnightly local scientific meetings open to all interested people, as well as having coordinated the activities of the 5th Physical Activity and Health of the Southeast region Symposium, with the seal of the Brazilian Society of Physical Activity and Health (SBAFS), in 2022. Education activities are maintained through research advice; between August 2020 and May 2024, 11 undergraduate final papers, three scientific initiation projects, and three master's dissertations were developed and completed. Two undergraduate final papers, two scientific initiation projects, and five master's dissertations are still in progress. With the opening of the PhD course at EEFERP-USP, the group hopes to have its first PhD students in the first half of 2024. Concerning the dissemination of knowledge, since August 2020, the group has published 21 articles in journals with national and international impact and three book chapters. The group's actions and studies follow the core of Physical Education and the field of Collective Health, through investigations and actions that promote a better understanding of physical activity and health, especially in the collective sphere, and seek to strengthen the interface with PHC at SUS. In terms of extension activities, the focus is on achieving greater inclusion of society in the University, especially the less represented groups, but above all on taking the University's activities beyond the walls, directly into the communities.