Community sport and physical activity programs as sites of integration: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research conducted with forced migrants

Objectives: Sport involvement has been touted as a way of helping forced migrants (i.e., refugees and asylum seekers) integrate into their host communities. Our aim was to synthesize multi-disciplinary qualitative research and through a sport and exercise psychology lens develop novel interdisciplinary insights of how sport and physical activity may become an integrative context for forced migrants.

Design: Working from a social constructionist epistemological position, a meta-synthesis of multi-disciplinary qualitative research was conducted. 

Methods: A literature search of seven electronic databases resulted in 23 peer-reviewed journal articles published since 1990 that met the inclusion criteria and were included in the synthesis. 

Results: Our descriptive synthesis based on the preceding analysis of multi-disciplinary literature is presented through three themes: (a) the beneficial role of sport in the life stories of forced migrants, (b) barriers to sport and physical activity, and (c) sport as an integrative context. 

Discussion and conclusion: Our interpretive meta-synthesis provides insight into the need for a critical approach to understanding how host communities may go about developing safe sport and physical activity contexts that support the integration of forced migrants.