Survey on the Attitudes of Pharmacy Students in Japan toward Doping and Supplement Intake

Abstract

Doping is one of the most serious problems for athletes, and it is important that pharmacists have more interaction with athletes to ensure safer drug usage. Education is one of the most important roles of sports pharmacists, who are specialists regarding drug usage for athletes. We investigated pharmacy students' interests and comprehension regarding drug usage, doping and supplement intake by using the form of a questionnaire, since it is important to know how they understand these subjects as part of their greater educational program. The subjects were sophomore and junior pharmacy students at three universities. It was revealed that most of the students have negative images regarding doping violation, and they answered that they are familiar with doping. However, only sixteen percent of the students had attended lectures by specialists on doping. In addition, one third of pharmacy students did not know that some over-the-counter (OTC) drugs might contain doping substances. With regard to supplement intake, approximately two thirds of the respondents had an interest in and positive image of supplement intake. However, it was revealed that only one third of them recognized supplements as food, and their information regarding supplements was obtained from uncertain media. It was suggested that it is important for pharmacy students to have more opportunities to learn about what doping is. More education and enlightenment by sports pharmacists would be effective for pharmacy students as well as athletes, and it would help us to broaden the scope of what we can do for athletes and society.

Knowledge and Perceptions of Pharmacy Students in Qatar on Anti-Doping in Sports and on Sports Pharmacy in Undergraduate Curricula

“…In alignment with previous studies, 2,3 our study demonstrated that pharmacy students support sports pharmacy being incorporated into the curriculum. Settings proposed for sports pharmacy content include the classroom, postgraduate training, and experiential programs.…”

“…One point was awarded for each correct response in the substance list shown in Table 2, giving rise to a maximum knowledge score of 8. The overall knowledge score of participants showed a mean (SD) of 4.1 (1.7) and median (inter-quartile range) of 4 (2). Inferential analysis of socio-demographic factors that might affect participants' knowledge regarding anti-doping was conducted.…”

“…1 Pharmacists can be the first port of call for people engaging in sports who require advice on drug treatment or general health care. However, few pharmacy programs incorporate sports pharmacy as part of the curriculum, as illustrated by studies where pharmacy students in Japan 2 and Syria 3 did not have sufficient learning opportunities concerning doping in sports. Pharmacy graduates can, therefore, lack knowledge and skills about doping and anti-doping in sports and be ill-equipped to provide advice on safe, effective, and legal use of drugs for athletes.…”

Anti-Doping Knowledge and Opinions of South African Pharmacists and General Practitioners

“…It is unclear if this trend represents a lack of available courses or workshops on the topic, or if the practitioners themselves don't perceive the issue to be as important as other clinical education topics. However, a study conducted in Japan that investigated pharmacy students' interests and comprehension regarding drug usage, doping and supplement intake also indicated that the students did not have opportunities to learn about doping and supplement intake (with only 16% of the students attending lectures by specialists on doping) and that their basic knowledge regarding doping was limited [7]. In our study, >92% of all respondents (i.e.…”

Knowledge, attitude and opinion of drug misuse and abuse by pharmacy students: a cross-sectional study in Jordan

“…Many reports showed an increase in the prevalence of prescription drug abuse [14][15][16]. Therefore, there is always a need for pharmacists to have the confidence and ability to offer psychosocial and medication recommendations to patients and other health care professionals about addictionrelated issues and their associated hazards, particularly because of the difficulties involved in recognizing addiction [14][15][16].…”