826 EP007 – What clinicians need to know about addiction prevention for athletes : example of an addiction prevention program developed in France

Background According to the International Olympics Community (2021), the substances most commonly used or misused by elite athletes across countries, sports and genders are alcohol, nicotine and cannabis. A 2018 meta-analysis found that 19% of athletes and 21.1% of former athletes reported symptoms of alcohol use disorder. A 2020 study reported that hazardous drinking was found in 25.8% of athletes. Although health benefits of sport are widely known and recognized, environment plays a major role in the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviors, and the work environment of athletes is no exception.On the other hand athletes often present individual vulnerability factors. Objective Our primary objective is to develop an addiction prevention program specifically dedicated to athletes and called « PAMS » Intervention The PAMS program includes three actions. The first initiative targets the general public (young people, fans, athletes of all levels...) aiming to deconstruct misleading mental representations on substance use through videos posted on social networks. The second action targets the people who supervise athletes (coaches, referees, psychologists, clinicians, etc.), to help them better understand the factors that influence health behaviors in the sporting environment, so that they can identify and prevent them. The last action targets top-level athletes, providing them with resources on career cessation so that they can anticipate it. Results PAMS videos has reach more than 30 000 views on social networks, more than 200 coachs have been trained through their clubs, federations or through academic organizations. Conclusions Addiction prevention programs that cut to the chase can widely improve athletes health and well-being. Keeping pace with environmental changes and improve the detection and management of individual vulnerabilities is a major prevention issue in sport. Further clinical researches need to be implemented to validate a transferable prevention program.