This intervention improves legal anti-doping knowledge in support personnel, suggesting further strategies are needed to change doping tendencies.
Legal anti-doping knowledge is a critical component of global anti-doping efforts, yet few studies have examined the impact of targeted interventions on legal aspects of anti-doping policy among athlete support personnel (ASP). This study aimed to evaluate (i) the effects of a structured educational intervention on legal anti-doping knowledge among ASP, and (ii) whether changes in knowledge are associated with changes in doping tendency. A total of 183 ASPs (64 females; 45.11±8.90 years of age), including 101 medical staff and 82 coaches supporting senior-level athletes, were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n=99) or a control group (n=84). The intervention group completed a 10-lesson program on anti-doping legislation. Variables included sociodemo- graphic data, sport-related factors, doping tendency, and legal anti-doping knowledge. A two-way repeated mea- sures ANOVA was conducted with Measurement (pre- to post-intervention), Group (Intervention vs. Control), and their interaction analyzed separately for medical staff and coaches. Significant improvements in legal anti-doping knowledge were found in both medical staff (Group × Measurement: F=12.11, p<0.05; Measurement: F=21.05, p<0.01) and coaches (F=37.70, p<0.01; F=20.03, p<0.001) in the intervention group, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. However, increased knowledge did not translate into changes in doping ten- dency. These findings emphasize the value of targeted education in enhancing legal anti-doping competencies among ASPs, though further strategies may be needed to influence attitudes and behaviors.
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Sinkovic et al. (2025) studied this question.
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