**8. The need to include Biokinetics in the public health sector and challenges facing inclusion**

Non-communicable diseases are increasingly prevalent within South Africa [73]. Physical inactivity is recognised internationally as a significant modifiable risk factor contributing to the increased prevalence of NCDs [74]. The integration of physical activity programmes into the primary health care system through multidisciplinary platforms is thus advocated for and envisioned to be more cost-effective than current practices. However, within the current primary health care setting of

South Africa, there is an absence of Biokinetics professionals. These professionals, whose scope of practice is to improve physical functioning and health through exercise, are ideally suited to developing and implementing physical activity programmes in the public sector. Despite the evident need for such interventions, the role of the Biokineticist has not yet been incorporated into the national public healthcare system.
