Addressing the unique needs for anti-doping and clean-sport education of para-athletes and athlete-support personnel: an international Delphi study

Background: There has been a lack of consideration of the specific needs of para-athletes and athlete-support personnel (ASP) when designing anti-doping and clean-sport education. To this, we developed recommendations for anti-doping and clean-sport education addressing the specific needs of these groups.

Methods: The Delphi method was used. Stakeholders with relevant expertise were invited to be panel members. In Round 1, the expert panel suggested novel elements for anti-doping and clean-sport education with para-athletes and ASP. These suggestions were integrated within a survey assessing the importance of 28 potential elements. In Round 2, the expert panel completed this survey. In Round 3, panel members ranked the relative importance of each topic area rated highest in Round 2. Based on these rankings, a draft set of recommendations was created. In Round 4, panel members rated the degree to which they accepted these recommendations and the feasibility of their delivery.

Results: The results of Round 2 and Round 3 were used to create education recommendations for para-athletes and ASP. In Round 4, most panel members fully accepted the para-athlete and ASP recommendations.

Conclusions: Adoption and implementation of the recommendations created should lead to greater engagement, enhanced learning, and more effective education for para-athletes and ASP.