METHODS

Project has four phases.

The first one will be initial screening of knowledge of medical doctors from the Balkan Sport Medicine Association (Albanian Federation of Sports Medicine, Bulgarian Sports Medicine Society, Turkish Association of Sports Medicine, Sport Medicine Association of Serbia, National Sports Medicine Centre of Moldova, Cyprus Association of Sports Medicine, National Institute of Sports Medicine of Romania, Sports Medicine Association of Greece) during 14th Balkan Sports Medicine Congress in Bulgaria, Albena, 21st; 24th of September 2006.

Balkan Association of Sport Medicine,
unique regional sport medicine association on the world.

All participants will have to fulfill questionnaire concerning knowledge about doping in sport. They will receive information about the study (the background of the project and project objectives, the possibility of refusing to answer specific questions, etc). Participation in the study is voluntary and the subjects are free to withdraw from the study without any prejudicial consequences. Confidentiality and anonymity are ensured for all participants. During the Congress representatives from each national association, who will be investigators, will adopt strategy concerning evaluation and education of medical doctors.

The second phase will be organization of Master Workshop about key issues about doping in the region. On this meeting investigators from each country will be discuss all major questions and prepare to organize national meeting. In the same time interactive web portal will be introduced on Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Albanian and Serbian language. We consider this phase important for increasing of anti-doping awareness through website and providing regular updated list of acceptable supplements and medicines for all doctors, especially team physicians.

The third phase will be national workshops with aim to educate wider population of medical doctors involved in sport, with target on team physicians from each country. We believe that team doctor is key figure in process of anti-doping education of athlete. It will be one day workshop where speakers will be 4 investigators from abroad plus 2 of them from the country. Six topics will be covered, plus presentation of the interactive web portal.

The fourth phase will be workshop during 15th Balkan Sports Medicine Congress in order to present major conclusion from previous workshops and future directions of anti-doping fight on Balkan region. Final results will be disseminated through Congress documents (Abstract book), as well as in special edition Answers on open doping questions two years research.