Montreal, November 20, 2024
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its Working Group on Unintentional Doping (Group), a working group established by the Department of Education of the Agency at the request of its Social Science Research Expert Advisory Group, to examine this important area and recommend an evidence-based, athlete-focused approach.
The first discussions on how to conceptualize, measure and reduce unintentional doping took place during the World Education Conference WADA in 2022, after which the Working Group was established in 2023. The Working Group's research project on unintentional doping is co-funded by WADA and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), which has committed in may 2022 to pay 400.000 Canadian dollars for the research project which runs from 2022 to 2026.
The Group is tasked with providing expert advice, recommendations and guidance for an evidence-based approach to the prevention of unintentional doping. Its members include:
- Susan Backhouse (UK/Chair)
- Derwin Chan (Hong Kong)
- Alexis Cooper (Australia)
- Olivier deHon (Netherlands)
- Dora Hegyi (Hungary)
- Annemarie Kristensen (Denmark)
- Fredrik Lauritzen (Norway)
Since its inception, the Group has begun to lay the foundations for its “Unintentional Doping Research Project,” which aims to advance knowledge and understanding of the concept of unintentional doping. Specifically, the Group will seek input from the anti-doping community and other relevant groups on the following:
- Conceptualize the multifaceted nature of unintentional doping and its underlying behaviors;
- Create a behavior map that identifies behaviors that may lead to or prevent unintentional doping;
- Determine the extent of unintentional doping by developing a global coding tracking system;
- To assess the incidence and prevalence of unintentional doping worldwide;
- Better understand the different risk pathways associated with unintentional doping, as well as their corresponding prevention strategies; and
- Identify problematic situations so that athletes and athlete support personnel can be warned before they engage in potentially compromising behavior.
“The Working Group on Unintentional Doping is committed to better understanding this complex issue, as we know it is a source of concern and anxiety for athletes around the world,” said Professor Backhouse. “By focusing on preventing behaviours that put athletes and their support personnel at risk of unintentional doping, we aim to draw on multiple perspectives to help us fill current knowledge gaps and identify collective actions. By better understanding the problem and establishing a system to measure trends in unintentional doping globally, we will be better placed to respond in a targeted and tailored manner.”
“WADA is pleased to announce the next steps in this critical social science research project,” said WADA Director of Education Amanda Hudson. “This research initiative is fully aligned with WADA’s social science research strategy and marks our efforts to help athletes and athlete support personnel navigate the anti-doping system. WADA recognizes that the anti-doping system is complex and that there are potential risks to athletes that may lead them to unintentionally commit an anti-doping rule violation. By exploring the circumstances that lead to unintentional doping, we hope to provide more informed guidance to anti-doping organizations to improve their anti-doping education programs, while identifying and implementing broader interventions that can help reduce the incidence of doping. We are grateful to the Fonds de recherche du Québec for their support in carrying out this research project.”
The Group’s mandate will be expanded to continue this very important work. In 2025, WADA will launch a “call for input” to gather stakeholder feedback and data on unintentional doping from the anti-doping community that may be able to provide insight. These inputs will then be considered by the Group as part of the project.
