Research Projects

The project aims to: 

This is a 4-year PhD studentship delivered through the CENTRE-UB and the University of Birmingham aims to explore and identify doping behaviours by athletes and to develop a risk assessment model and predictive tool that utilises mathematical modelling to identify potential doping. Anticipated outcomes include:  

• A thorough and up-to-date literature review on doping risk behaviours and indicators, including psychosocial factors and their relative impact on doping risk.  
• Novel insight on the modus operandi of doping athletes, enabling the identification of opportunities to disrupt doping conduct.  
• A new, labelled dataset of variables, doping risk behaviours and indicators, including sources of data on psychosocial factors, that have an impact on doping conduct.  

The project includes: 

Interviews with sanctioned athletes, collation of UKAD and international data wherever possible, analysis of psychosocial indicators of doping behaviour.  

Objective 

Development of an evidence-based risk assessment model and predictive tool identifying individuals at high risk for doping, enabling improved targeted testing of athletes.  

The project aims to:

Evaluate the socio-cultural and psychological influences on performance enhancement attitudes and behaviour within the top three tiers of professional Rugby League. The objectives are:

• Scope and identify critical doping vulnerability periods and situations in professional Rugby League players’ career and the influences of athlete support personnel (ASP). 
• Explore Rugby League players’ and ASPs’ perceptions of the socio-cultural norms, values, beliefs, and behaviours surrounding doping in the top three tiers of Rugby League, and how these contexts influence doping vulnerability. 
• Explore Rugby League players’ and ASPs’ perceptions of the effectiveness of anti-doping education and policy in mitigating doping vulnerability, across the top three tiers of Rugby League.

The project includes:

An online questionnaire to gather insights on player’s perceived socio-moral norms and culture and other relevant constructs relating to anti-doping attitudes and motivation. This will be supported by insights gained from focus group interviews with players and coaches from each of the three tiers of RFL.

Objective

Develop sport-specific, tailored recommendations for developing behaviour change interventions to tackle doping vulnerability in Rugby League. 

The project aims: 

Understand the current extent of clean sport curriculum content across UK Higher Education (HE) courses. Specifically, we are seeking to assess:  

• the breadth and context of clean sport topics within courses   
• how clean sport topics are delivered and assessed  
• how relevant any prior clean sport education was towards their current employment/role   

The project involved: 

An online survey to gather these insights from academic staff, current students and alumni and professionals within the UK sport sector.  

Outcomes:

A set of recommendations were made which sets out how UKAD will engage with UK HE institutions and the sport sector to promote and grow the clean sport education content within HE courses. The aim is to standardise an approach to maintain relevant and up-to-date content, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the education delivered and ensures integration of clean sport education within academic qualifications and professional accreditation. 

Read the full report

The project aims:

Develop a prototype Artificial Intelligence-based, behaviour change intervention, delivered via a conversational chatbot (WHISTLE-BOT), to promote whistleblowing against doping in sport. The objectives are:

• Map the social and psychological barriers and enablers towards whistleblowing on doping in sport against theoretical frameworks relating to human behaviour
• Identify key target areas for the WHISTLE-BOT, and co-design relevant behaviour change techniques with elite athletes and support personnel, to effectively promote whistleblowing against doping.
• Conduct a pilot evaluation of the WHISTLE-BOT with elite athletes and support personnel, to test usability and acceptability, content and conversational design.

The project involved:

A rapid and thorough literature review and assessment of the existing evidence of the barriers and enablers towards whistleblowing against behavioural change models. Focus group workshops with elite athletes and support personnel discussing ways to mitigate barriers and strengthen enablers, through relevant behaviour change techniques and messages. Deployment and pilot-testing of the chatbot by athletes and evaluation of their feedback.

Outcomes: 

The WHISTLE-BOT chatbot will be launched on UKAD’s website as a reporting companion to motivate and support athletes to report doping in sport. It will provide information, reassurance and guidance using relevant behaviour change techniques. The content of the chatbot will develop iteratively to include more topics and more tailored support to users, addressing the barriers and enablers to reporting as identified during the project. 

The project aims: 

• Conduct interviews with athletes and athlete support personnel to explore their knowledge, beliefs and experiences of the barriers to reporting doping practices within professional sport
• Design behavioural change interventions that target those barriers
• Implement the interventions within UKADs Protect Your Sport campaign and whistleblowing platforms
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions by comparing baseline data with data collected 6 months post implementation

The project involved:

• Conduct interviews with athletes and athlete support personnel to explore their knowledge, beliefs and experiences of the barriers to reporting doping practices within professional sport
• Design behavioural change interventions that target those barriers
• Implement the interventions within UKADs Protect Your Sport campaign and whistleblowing platforms
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions by comparing baseline data with data collected 6 months post-implementation 

Outcomes:

Several improvements were made to the Protect Your Sport webpage and online reporting form to make it simpler and easier for people to make a report. This included simple changes to the language used, user-experience improvements to the UKAD website and reconfiguring the design of the form itself. Changes to PYS campaign messaging were made with the launch of new promotional assets, featuring striking visuals and impactful messages designed to invoke emotional responses that compel athletes to come forward with information. UKAD have also embraced the power of transparency in publishing whistleblowing statistics on their website, with an annual news article reporting the numbers of whistleblowing reports received and the number of intelligence-led ADRVs as a result, with the aim of normalising the behaviour of reporting.