Abstract
BACKGROUND: Providing sexual and reproductive (SRH) health education to youth can improve outcomes including knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and use of condoms. Programs integrating soccer and sexual health education have shown promise in improving HIV-related outcomes in African countries; however, little is known about programs in other regions of the world, using other sports, or focusing on other SRH outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review is to identify and compare a broader spectrum of integrated programs and their outcomes. METHODS: Four databases were searched for articles mentioning SRH education, sports, adolescents, and synonyms of these concepts. References from articles selected for data extraction were also hand-searched. Articles were included in the review if they (1) reported on an intervention in which youth both play a sport and are explicitly taught a curriculum to improve any SRH outcome; (2) were published between 2000 and 2022; (3) reported quantitative outcome data; and (4) included participants between 10 and 24 years old. Two co-authors extracted data from the selected studies. Narrative synthesis and descriptive tables were used to summarize extracted data. RESULTS: Of 4,161 records identified by the search, 21 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the programs were implemented in Africa (n = 13). Sports included football/soccer (n = 15), netball/basketball (n = 2), cricket (n = 2), and unspecified sports (n = 4). Most (n = 12) interventions were multi-session programs lasting up to 12 weeks. HIV/AIDS prevention (n = 16) and prevention of gender-based violence (n = 13) were the most common SRH topics. Seven studies included random assignment to treatment and control. Significant improvements were reported by most of the studies measuring HIV-related outcomes as well as all three studies reporting outcomes related to contraception or pregnancy. Less than half of the studies measuring gender roles, gender norms, or gender-based violence reported positive outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Integrated sport and SRH interventions show promise as a way to attract and engage youth in SRH programming. Additional research is needed to better understand the specific content, context, and implementation strategies that are associated with positive outcomes.