Promoting physical activity among children and youth in disadvantaged South Australian CALD communities through alternative community sport opportunities

Abstract

Recently arrived migrants and refugees from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (CALD) may be particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. Participation in sport is endorsed as a vehicle to ease the resettlement process; however, in Australia, this is often thought as a simple matter of integration into existing sport structures (e.g. clubs). This approach fails to place actual community needs at the centre of sport engagement efforts. A consultation framework was established with South Australian CALD community leaders and organisations to scope needs for community-based alternatives to participation in traditional sport (e.g. clubs), co-design a suitable community sport program and pilot it in five communities. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted with participants, community representatives, stakeholders and volunteers. Regular, free soccer activities engaged 263 young people from a great variety of nationalities, including over 50% refugees, in secondary state school and community-based sites. Alternative community sport programs can provide a basic but valuable forum to promote physical activity and associated well being in CALD and refugee communities. Alternative approaches can extend the health benefits of sport participation to disadvantaged children and youth who are excluded from traditional sport participation opportunities.

A Scoping Review and Conceptual Model of Social Participation and Mental Health among Refugees and Asylum Seekers

“…Participation in such activities may lead to beneficial effects, through promoting cohesion among ethnic groups [53], a sense of belonging and identity [59], as well as providing a basis for conflict resolution [60,85]. However, socio-economic factors and lack of family support are important barriers to participation in this domain, especially among female refugees [62,86].…”

Sport and dance interventions for healthy young people (15–24 years) to promote subjective well-being: a systematic review

“… 63 Our findings support work that identifies the need to tailor physical activity interventions to the needs of those taking part in order to overcome negative perceptions of sport and barriers to involvement in order to maximise the potential for positive well-being outcomes from taking part. 64 …”

‘Like, what even is a podcast?’ Approaching sport-for-development youth participatory action research through digital methodologies

“…Some recent studies have utilised PAR to design, implement, and evaluate SfD programming for marginalised populations. This body of work has tended to conclude that PAR can facilitate the design and delivery of needs-based SfD programming for specific populations (see Holt et al 2013;Rosso and McGrath 2017;Robinson et al 2019), yet also expressed caution about the sustainability and impact of SfD programming particularly after the research team exits the field and funding expires (Holt et al 2013;Rich and Misener 2019). As a result, Rich and Misener (2019) highlighted the importance of PAR research that progresses from community interaction to community capacity building, so that researchers can ultimately exit while ensuring sustainability of SfD programming.…”