Understanding and influencing global coach anti-doping education through the development of an international framework

Summary

This project aims to improve the effectiveness of anti-doping education and information provision through the development of an international framework for coach anti-doping education. This will be achieved by conducting a comprehensive audit and critical appraisal of current global coach anti-doping education and undertaking systematic consultations with coaches, education providers and policy makers worldwide.

Methodology

This project consisted in 4 phases. Phase 1 was an audit and critical appraisal of global coach anti-doping education through online search and a stakeholder survey. Phase 2 included collating examples of emergent practice through online search and interviews with education providers. Phase 3 was the investigation of coaches' anti-doping capability, opportunity, motivation, behaviour and education experience/prefereces through an online survey. Phase 4 was the creation of an International Framework for Coach Anti-Doping Education (IFCADE).

Results

Audit                                 

• Interventions were rarely tailored towards specific groups of coaches (if tailored for coaches at all).
• A range of methods were utilised; dominance was with online and face-to-face.
• Learning tasks were primarily text and image based; some interaction was facilitated by some interventions.
• Outcomes were focused around increasing awareness and knowledge; some decision-making and values/role were addressed by some interventions.
• Monitoring and evaluation activity was minimal.

Collating emerging practice

• The importance of clean sport – and the specific role of the coach – was recognised. Consequently, organisations are keen to have provision in place (even if they did not currently).
• Action is driven by policy or ‘critical incidents’ (i.e., ‘scandals’); but, these usually relate to athletes rather than coaches and there is little regulation to establish if/how policy results in action.
• Practice varies significantly across organisations and there is a lack of coordination/communication across the global system.
• Organizations called for greater collaboration to enhance the system.

Coach survey

• Coaches engaged in some anti-doping behaviours, especially ‘caring’ and creating a clean environment.
• Coaches saw anti-doping as their professional responsibility, and clean sport aligned with many coaches’ personal values. Yet, taking anti-doping action is not actively associated with positive emotion or recognition.
• Coaches had some anti-doping capability, especially knowledge of their responsibilities and where to find information. However, they lacked skills and confidence in using resources (inc. to check products) and starting a conversation.
• Coaches’ associations with athletes (e.g., close, trusting relationships) and working environments (e.g., proximity to others who are undertaking anti-doping behaviors, existence of policy and protocols) were ‘enablers’ (or positive influences) on their anti-doping actions. Yet, coaches could be more explicitly and regularly prompted to take action.

Significance for Clean Sport

To bring the Framework to life, an ‘implementation blueprint’ is embedded in the document to provide guidance on how the Framework can be used by organisations to inform their coach anti-doping education provision. In essence, organisations are presented with guidance to support them through a process of programme development, delivery and evaluation. True to the nature of this project, this guidance is both theory-informed (using the Behaviour Change Wheel) and evidence-based (using the insights from Phases 1 to 3).