PHYSICAL EDUCATION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND SPORT IN SUPPORT OF HEALTH, PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING, AND THE INTEGRATION OF FORCIBLY DISPLACED CHILDREN AND YOUTH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF SCOPUS PUBLICATIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67034/2786-8354.2026.20.2.12Keywords:
physical activity, physical education, active lifestyle, refugee children, displaced children, youth, integration, inclusion, adaptation, psychosocial support, health promotionAbstract
Introduction. The forced displacement of children and youth remains one of the most pressing global social and humanitarian issues, directly affecting their health, psychosocial well-being, level of social integration, and access to educational and health opportunities. In this context, physical education, physical activity, and sport take on significance as potential tools for promoting health, adaptation, inclusion, and the integration of refugee, migrant, and forcibly displaced children and youth into host communities.
The purpose of the study was to systematize and synthesize current scientific data presented in publications indexed in the Scopus scientometric database regarding the role of physical education, physical activity, and sport in promoting the health, psychosocial well-being, social integration, and adaptation of refugee, migrant, and forcibly displaced children and youth into host communities., as well as to develop a conceptual model of the relevant mechanisms of influence.
Materials and Methods. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020. The search was performed in the Scopus database for the years 2021–2025 using TITLE-ABS-KEY, Boolean operators, and predefined keywords. The selected records were exported to BibTeX format and analyzed in the R environment using Bibliometrix. The data were synthesized using descriptive and thematic synthesis and a thematic coding matrix.
Results. During the search and screening process, 204 scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database were reviewed, of which 9 publications that met the inclusion criteria were selected for the final systematic review. Publications with a clearly stated sample size included (n = 2420) children, adolescents, and young adults aged 2 to 24 years, among whom a separate study covered Ukrainian refugee children aged 10–15 years (n = 248); one study specifically covered (n = 491) physical education teachers, and another study covered Ukrainian refugee families (n = 10) with a total of children (n = 14). The evidence base was also supplemented by the results of a review study that synthesized data from 28 scientific papers on children with experiences of forced displacement aged from birth to 12 years. The studies were conducted in Australia, Italy, the United States, Poland, Norway, Uganda, and Lebanon and included refugee, migrant, and forcibly displaced children and youth. The results of the analysis showed that physical education, physical activity, and sport are associated with improved psychosocial well-being, increased resilience, expanded social connections, and enhanced social integration among children and youth with experiences of forced displacement, and the most pronounced positive effects were observed in intervention programmes aimed at reducing psychological distress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
Conclusions. A systematic review of the results of recent scientific research has made it possible to identify key areas for the use of physical education, physical activity, and sport in working with refugee, migrant, and forcibly displaced children and youth. The developed conceptual model summarizes the main mechanisms of influence and can be used as a theoretical basis for planning, implementing, and evaluating physical education and sport programmes aimed at supporting these population groups.
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