Analysis of knowledge and social awareness of doping and prevention among athletes in Córdoba, Argentina, and the preventative approach

Summary
As drug abuse among Argentinean athletes becomes more frequent, new approaches have to be established, along with a new means of observing this phenomenon. Through social awareness and knowledge, it is possible to explore and describe above and beyond those statistics and intervention policies currently employed and that have been unable to deal with the problem in an integrated manner that is consistent with the athlete’s actual circumstances. The overall objective of this proposal is to describe social awareness and knowledge about doping and prevention among a population of athletes in the province of Córdoba, and the anti-doping education guidelines that may or may not be implemented by coaches, doctors, trainers and physical education teachers. This analysis of social awareness and knowledge among athletes from Córdoba and the preventative approach (in relation to doping and its prevention) seeks to recover the significance attributed to such practices, which gives a social meaning to the abuse of drugs in the practice of sport. This research is an exploratory/descriptive study, which questions social awareness and knowledge of the abuse of drugs among athletes in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, and the practices and theories of people who are in direct contact with athletes during their training. Starting with the theoretical context of social relations, and incorporating qualitative and quantitative methodologies in populations of athletes (both members and non-members of sports organizations), such social awareness and knowledge of the concept of doping, abuse of drugs, effects, causes, consequences and prevention can be categorized. Coaches, doctors and teachers will also participate through interviews, in which the anti-doping education intervention processes implemented will be analyzed. The guiding hypothesis for this research is that, if athlete awareness and knowledge of doping, its prevention and the theoretical and practical bases of the types of sports training in the different sports organizations in the province of Córdoba are understood, it will then be possible to establish specific guidelines and forms of intervention to be used in anti-doping education. 

Methodology
 

In order to corroborate this, the following methodology will be applied, focusing on surveys among athletes and interviews with coaches. The information provided will be analyzed, interpreted and then compared. Based on the conclusions and theoretical assumptions concerning anti-doping education, the corresponding guidelines will be established. The intervention processes include specific proposals, such as anti-doping education didactics and education activities among peers for the younger athletes at the sports department of the University of Córdoba. This methodology ensures a favorable process, due to the proximity of young people, through interests, codes and relations. At the same time, it increases knowledge in other areas.

This research is focused on federated and non-federated athletes in the Province of Cordoba, Argentina, and aims to address their specific social representations and statements on doping and its prevention. Through semi-structured surveys on the subject of doping and prevention, 1548 athletes, male and female from different individual and collective sports disciplines, federated and amateurs, were surveyed. Also 145 people directly related to athletes were interviewed, including coaches, sports physicians, managers, sports journalists, etc., to whom semi-structured interviews on the subject of doping and its prevention were applied.

Results
• Concepts of doping for Argentinian athletes are vague and misunderstood. 
• The challenge is to overcome such misconception first and then encourage negative attitudes to doping and foster positive attitudes to anti-doping.
• As inherent moral system of sport is still important for elite and amateur sport, factual and moral education program may be efficient in anti-doping education.

Significance for Clean Sport

This project allows tailoring the education programs for Latin America by leaning on the moral system of sport.

Final report only available in Spanish.