Shaping the next generation of athlete support personnel in Spain: integrating a multi-modal anti-doping education program in bachelor's degree in sports sciences

Athlete Support Personnel – ASP- (e.g., Coaches, Physiotherapists, Nutritionists) play a crucial role in shaping athletes’ decision to use prohibited performance enhancing substances. Many ASP will study a sports sciences degree prior to assisting athletes. However, the curricula of bachelor's degree programs in Sports Sciences seldom include dedicated academic training on anti-doping regulations or doping prevention strategies. This study assessed the effectiveness of an anti-doping education program, integrated into the Sports Sciences bachelor's curriculum of a Spanish university, in improving students' knowledge and retention of anti-doping principles. 81 bachelor’s students in Sports Science participated in a comprehensive multi-component educational intervention that included a 6-h lecture series on doping, anti-doping regulations, a 2-hour seminar on anti-doping testing procedures, a 2-h session focused on the risks associated with supplementation and the completion of a 20-h certified online course provided by the Spanish Anti-Doping Commission on the role of ASP to prevent doping. An adapted version of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Play True Quiz, consisting of 37 multiple-choice and true/false questions, was administered at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after, and at a six-month follow-up. Anti-doping knowledge measured with the questionnaire improved significantly following the intervention (from 62.2 ± 10.2 to 76.1 ± 12.5 points; p < 0.001). Although a decline was observed at the six-month follow-up, scores remained significantly higher than baseline (69.5 ± 11.3 points; p < 0.001). In conclusion, a structured, muti-modal anti-doping education program effectively improved anti-doping knowledge among Spanish bachelor’s students in Sports Sciences, with knowledge retention persisting over six months.