Impact of an Adapted Sports Program on Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion: A Case Study in the Las Mercedes Sector, San Lorenzo Canton

Abstract

Social exclusion in vulnerable community contexts conditions opportunities for participation and places strain on the construction of collective bonds. Within this setting, community sport emerges as a form of social intervention with the capacity to influence processes of integration and cohesion. This study examined the impact of the “Sport for Social Equity” program in the Las Mercedes sector of the San Lorenzo canton, with the aim of understanding its contribution to participants’ experiences of social inclusion. The research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, with a quasi-experimental design and an intentional sample of 30 participants. The intervention was organized into three articulated stages: a program adaptation phase based on open interviews, the implementation of sports activities over eight weeks, and an evaluation stage using a satisfaction survey with a Likert-type scale. The results indicate an overall favorable assessment, reflected in a general satisfaction average of 4.4, associated with perceived improvements in social interaction, sense of belonging, and community cohesion. Alongside these assessments, structural constraints related to the intensity of the activities and the persistence of pre-existing social tensions are acknowledged, situating the program experience within a field of complexity that opens space for evaluations with a longer temporal scope.