The “Dopogenic Environment” and Anti-Doping Communication in Africa: A Qualitative Study

1. Introduction

Doping is a worldwide phenomenon that dates to the Ancient Olympic era (Rogol, Miller, & Eichner, 2019). “Doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule violations set forth in Article 2.1 through Article 2.11 of the Code” (World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA] Code, 2021, p. 19). These anti-doping rule violations include: the detection of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample; an athlete evading, refusing, or failing to provide a sample; and failures by an athlete to comply with whereabouts requirements. Anti-doping refers to practices and methods to ensure clean sport and a level playing ground for all athletes through communication and education (Keyser et al., 2007). In this study, communication refers to policy documents, reports from the WADA, communication technologies, electronic communication, and health communication. Thus, anti-doping communication is important in creating awareness about the dangers of doping to athletes.

Research has shown that doping has implications for the reputation, status, and health of individuals, organizations, and nations found to be actively taking part in doping activities (Allden, 2009; Duval, 2015; Holt et al., 2009; McClaren, 2016; Møller, 2009). WADA’s current anti-doping strategy focuses on individual athlete responsibility and strict adherence to WADA’s strict policy liability (Naughton et al., (2024), but there is an emerging research view that an athlete is the sum of the complex interactions that occurs in their environment including policy and governance, socio-economic factors, coach-athlete relations and psychological factors (Backhouse et al., 2017).

While the literature on anti-doping communication abounds in Western countries (e.g., Read et al., 2024; Martinelli et al., 2023; Qvarfordt et al., 2021), there is limited literature on the African anti-doping communication context. Prior research has shown that Africa was underrepresented at the meeting that birthed WADA in 1999 and that anti-doping is Western-biased and tends to enforce Western hegemony (Ruwuya et al., 2022). Thus, a one-size-fits-all solution to anti-doping may not be suitable for every region worldwide.

Scholars have noted that African countries face socio-economic challenges that hinder governments from setting up institutional anti-doping structures and funding programs to meet WADA’s anti-doping code (Adu, 2023; Lapouble, 2024; Ndasauka and Makwinja, 2024; Ruwuya et al., 2022). Lapouble (2024) argues African governments prioritize pressing economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment and education over establishing and funding anti-doping structures and programs. Likewise, Ndasauka & Makwinja (2024) advocate that the WADA code must be amended to reflect cultural, philosophical and institutional contexts in Africa. The present research adopts the views of the prior research and examines how philosophical, cultural and institutional contexts of Africa’s anti-doping environment interact across the multi-ecological layers to influence the African athletes’ dopogenic environment. Moreover, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2018) estimates that African countries allocate approximately 0.5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on sports compared to the world average of 2.0. Elsewhere in Africa, Longman (2023) notes that Kenya spends $5million on anti-doping annually following the establishment of that country’s national anti-doping agency, Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya in 2016. However, the socio-economic condition of individual Kenyan athletes makes them vulnerable to the influence of unscrupulous agents.

Research has shown a direct link between socio-economic factors and doping in Kenya (Ogama & Sakwa, 2019), highlighting the need for families and the extended family to play leading roles in offering anti-doping communication and education to athletes, which is important in many African settings (Acheampong et al., 2020). In Africa, the individual’s closed family, hybrid family, and shared family play a significant role in their life, providing tangible and intangible things for the betterment of their upbringing (Acheampong et al., 2020).

The present study combines the “dopogenic environment” concept (Backhouse et al., 2017) and the socio-ecological model (SEM; Bronfenbrenner, 1979) to explore anti-doping communication in Africa. The SEM (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) sees behavior as the outcome of interactions involving individual, interpersonal communication, community and policy levels of communication. The individual level is characterized by the ideational communication and behavior change model: the interpersonal relationship theory applies to the social network level, the participatory communication model fits the community level, and the mass media theory applies to the policy level.

Backhouse et al. (2017) define the “dopogenic environment” as the combined impact of environmental influences, available opportunities and prevailing conditions that promote violations of the anti-doping code. Thus, local level factors such as the family, the home, team sport and neighborhood interact with structural and institutional factors such as educational systems, government policies, societal attitudes and beliefs and international sports organizations to create the athletes’ dopogenic environment. Backhouse et al. (2017) advocates for studies into doping to move beyond the individual and rather focus on social and environmental factors that affect individual athlete’s doping rule violations.

While the SEM provides a framework for understanding the multi-level aspects of communication, the dopogenic environment offers a sports context that provides an overview of how individual behaviour is shaped by factors such as value system, power relations, structural inequalities, lack of access to technology or technological exclusion, and geopolitical inequalities, which may make individual athletes vulnerable to doping rule violations.

By combining the concepts of SEM and the dopogenic theory, the study aims to provide a rounded discussion and understanding of how communications systems, policy priorities and institutional capacities impact individual athletes’ susceptibility to doping rule violations in Africa. The SEM provides a practical guide to layers of communication that affects the behavior of individual athletes, but the dopogenic environment takes a deeper dive into the contextual issues such as the power dynamics and hegemony that exists within those layers of communication and how they affect individual athletes. Thus, the two theories complement each other as we explore the environmental interactions that take place in the world of the African athlete.

The study is guided by the following research questions: what factors influence anti-doping communication in Africa? How are anti-doping communication strategies framed and implemented across the four socio ecological levels (SEM) within African sports structures, and how do African athletes utilize and access communication technologies and interpersonal networks to acquire anti-doping knowledge?

2. Methods

2.1. Design and Procedure

The present study used a qualitative design. The analysis relies on in-depth interviews, observations from fieldwork at the 2023 African Games held in Accra, Ghana, and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) documents. Eighteen participants (N = 18, females: n = 4), consisting of officials from African national anti-doping agencies (NADO), sports administrators and African athletes participated in the study. The first author conducted in-depth interviews with all the participants at the 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana. Table 1 presents a description of the participants. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling using Athletics Ghana and personal contacts at the 2023 African Games. Most in-depth interviews were conducted at the inaugural high forum on anti-doping in Africa on 7th March 2024. The research reached saturation when 18 participants were interviewed.

Insert Table 1

2.2. Interview Guide

A semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection. Sample questions are:

• How do you receive training on international and global doping regulations and policies?
• How does Ghana’s sports organizations encourage and make available inexpensive communication technologies, apps, and digital devices for the sportspersons?
• 3How is doping communication being implemented on the individual, social, community and national levels?

2.3. Data Analysis

We determined the basic characteristics of the sample using qualitative descriptive thematic analysis (Braun, & Clarke, 2022, 2024). Sampled participants were grouped into males and females, nationalities, regional and continental descriptions. The research employed Braun and Clarke’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) approach to familiarize with the interview data, systematic data coding, generating initial themes, reviewing and refining the prior themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final work. The RTA greatly helped in identifying, organizing, and interpreting the data. The first author [initials omitted for anonymous review] transcribed the interviews, read the transcribed interviews several times. Once done, the author systematically coded the data and generated initial codes/subthemes in relation to the literature and theory. Next, the author searched for themes by linking and grouping codes/subthemes. The last author [initials omitted for anonymous review] reviewed the initial themes and checked for consistency between how the themes worked in relation to the coded extracts. Fifthly, we defined and gave meaning to each theme. Finally, we decided on the most salient quotes that represented the themes and subthemes. We produced the final report in relation to the theory and literature.

3. Results and Discussion

As noted in the literature, several factors affect anti-doping communication in Africa, including the lack of anti-doping structures, funding and the socio-economic context of African countries. Our field trip to the African Games, Accra 2023 and sample interviews identified four main themes from the thematic analysis: lack of interest from policymakers (lack of knowledge and understanding, lack of funding, socio-economic context), institutional mistrust, limited event-based/interpersonal anti-doping communication, and limited technology use. Table 2 presents an overview of the main themes, subthemes, and direct quotations

Insert Table 2 about here

3.1. Lack of Interest From Policymakers

Our sample showed there is a lack of interest from policy makers, such as government officials and leaders of sports organizations, in anti-doping communication in Africa, consistent with previous literature (Lapouble, 2024; Ndasauka & Makwinja, 2024; Ruwuya et al., 2022). The research details the phenomenon of policy interest with further subthemes on lack of knowledge and understanding, socio-economic challenges, and lack of funding.

3.1.1. Lack of Knowledge and Understanding

African policymakers lack a nuanced understanding and knowledge of the world anti-doping code, and the cultural, social and philosophical realities of African athletes (Lapouble, 2024; Ndasauka & Makwinja, 2024; Ruwuya et al., 2022). Most of our participants agreed that policy makers understanding and knowledge of anti-doping is low and this tends to affect anti-doping communication and interactions across ecological layers and. A participant explains:

Some of the people who are in positions of power have no clue as to what anti-doping is. People always think sports is always about winning medals. So, we need to get our ministers or permanent secretaries, director generals of sports, ministries, sports commissions, and councils to understand this. We need the Olympic Committees to come in and use resources from Olympic Solidarity to fund these conferences and workshops to empower the athletes so that as they go to the Commonwealth Youth Games and African Youth Games, already their knowledge level should be high so they can avoid the pitfalls their elder brothers and sisters have made (Interviewee 3, Zimbabwe, Regional anti-doping officer).

The quote above illustrates the lack of knowledge and understanding of anti-doping among the top echelons of policymakers and sports administrators in Africa which is consistent with the previous literature. Participant 3 advocates for a top-down communication approach to empowering policymakers and individual athletes about anti-doping communication using resources from external sources like the Olympic Solidarity.

Our observation from a field trip to the Accra 2023 African Games shows that Ghana passed legislation for a national anti-doping law days to the commencement of the event. This was due to the proximity of the Games, amidst the legal requirements for hosting an international game of that nature per observations by Interviewee 11: “I should think so. The African Games should leave us with much legacy” (Interviewee 11, Continental anti-doping officer, Ghana). In this quote, the participant alludes to the impact the proximity of the Accra 2023 Games had on the passage of Ghana’s national law on anti-doping on the eve of the Games.

A participant disagreed with the assertion that African policymakers lack knowledge and understanding of anti-doping communication. A Kenyan official explains:

Yes, in Kenya the government has established an anti-doping agency for athletes that provides all the information about anti-doping to our athletes. They organise sensitization and workshops and they test athletes often. Our athletes do well all over the world and it is our responsibility to help them. We don’t want to compromise them (Interviewee 7, Kenya, Official).

From the statement above, the participant indicates the Kenyan government’s understanding and knowledge of anti-doping has led them to establish an anti-doping agency to sensitise their athletes on anti-doping as a national priority. This view generally challenges the assertion that African policymakers lack understanding and knowledge on anti-doping (Lapouble, 2024). At the same time, it supports the assertion by Longman (2023) about the establishment of the national anti-doping agency of Kenya and annual $5million funds for the work of the agency. Therefore, there appears to be a direct relationship between policymakers’ understanding and knowledge of anti-doping and the provision of the necessary infrastructure for anti-doping.

3.1.2. Socio-Economic Challenges

The socio-economic state of African countries creates conditions that affect anti-doping communication as African governments prioritize pressing economic indices such as poverty, unemployment and education over establishing and funding anti-doping structures and programs (Lapouble, 2024; Ruwuya et al., 2022). Our sample showed that the socio-economic inequalities create the dopogenic environment where there is apathy towards the work of anti-doping in Africa. One participant clarifies:

As you know, Africa has its problems. On resources, they [government] focus on what they think is critical. Of course, we know poverty, housing, and economic problems exist. So, those are the things the [government] understands. That is my view. Of course, we will make sure the government understands those they push; they push for legislation to be in place to cover anti-doping. However, other countries see the advantages in health and education, so sports also get a small amount of the funds, making it difficult for the anti-doping organization to focus on doping (Interviewee 5, Namibia, anti-doping officer)

From the statement above, the participant explains that African governments, representing the macro/policy level of the SEM, do not consider the sports sector as top priority because of pressing socio-economic realities from other sectors of the economy. Moreover, African governments do not consider doping in sports to be a health concern compared to other countries. This condition negatively affects the work of anti-doping. This is consistent with socio-ecological model and the literature (Lapouble, 2024).

Relatedly, WADA (2011, 2015) notes that African countries face peculiar socio-economic challenges in carrying out their anti-doping mandate as evidenced in several editions of the African Games where host nations grapple with the economic challenges of hosting the continent’s biggest sports event.

However, it cannot be ignored that the economies involved are either emerging or very poor ones. And in some cases, the level of resources, despite the best intentions, will not ensure pride of place for anti-doping on the hierarchy of needs. In light of this, it will be imperative that the continent of Africa receives more assistance and support from the international anti-doping community (WADA, 2011, para.13).

The WADA statement above, supports the view that African countries need more resources from the international anti-doping community to be able to adhere to the WADA doping code due to the low level of their economies. The WADA statement is in line with empirical evidence (Lapouble, 2024 and the socio-ecological model. Despite the above statement by WADA, African countries and the global south are held to the same standard of personal responsibility and strict adherence to WADA’s anti-doping code, amidst WADA’s one size-fit-all approach to global anti-doping.

3.1.3. Lack of Funding

In Africa, lack of funding is a core driver of an ineffective anti-doping policy program because it affects capacity building of anti-doping institutions and implementation of a national anti-doping program, coupled with the required testing and research (Lapouble, 2024; Ndasauka & Makwinja, 2024). Our sample highlighted funding as a major factor that affects the quality of communication from the macro level through to the individual athlete’s ability to comply with anti-doping regulations (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). A participant explains:

Yes, funding. As I indicated earlier, we were not structured earlier. We take our funding from the Ministry, but it is non-existent. However, they provide infrastructure. On human resources, the RADO [Regional Anti-Doping Organization] has indicated they can help, and the Ministry is also helping. Now, we have passed that stage. If we are to be fully institutionalized, we need a source of funding. Instead of taking what has been allocated to the Ministry [of Sports], which is not good enough for them, we need our own (Interviewee 9, Ghana, anti-doping officer).

The quote shows funding is non-existent for the work of the national anti-doping agency despite the passage of the national law on anti-doping. This is consistent with the literature about the lack of funding and institutional capacity for the national anti-doping committee even though WADA provides some level of funding through its regional affiliate organization. As highlighted elsewhere by Interviewee 7, there is a link between policy interest in anti-doping and funding:

… How important doping matters are considered at the national level will determine the budgetary allocation to these national anti-doping organizations or committees and the utilization of such budgetary allocations. You can only do as much as your funds will permit you to do. Interest will drive you to seek knowledge. In seeking knowledge, you will find out there is the need to get funding for it, and boom! I think Ghana just passed an anti-doping law in parliament, which is a great thing (Interviewee 11, Continental anti-doping officer, Ghana).

In the quote above, a participant explains the intricate relationship between political interest on the one hand, budgetary allocation and funding on the other. The participant suggests funding is non-existent for anti-doping because policymakers do not consider anti-doping to be top national priority yet. This supports the prior literature by Lapouble (2024).

On the other hands, another participant explained how the Kenyan government has committed more resources to the fight against doping since 2016.

So, the government has invested a lot of money in this fight against doping. There is a lot of information, and even those who are found to be doping, it is a criminal offense (Interviewee 7, Kenya, Official).

From the quote above, anti-doping appears to have gained national attention, given Kenyan’s prominence in sports, and this has influenced Kenyan policymakers to committing more resources to anti-doping communication. This supports the literature by Longman (2023). However, another interviewee disagreed with the majority sample view that funding is a governmental responsibility. He explains:

Sometimes, funding is not the problem. It is the idea that is the problem because we have funding from UNESCO, from Olympic Solidarity and various corporate organisations funding Olympic sports. But it is how we package our sports. How do we sell our sports to the private sector to get funding for the things we have to do? It is not just about the government. Like is the case of Nigeria, immensely gifted. Blessed beyond measure. But it is how to utilize those imminently qualified scientists and educationists within Nigeria that can help the Nigerian athletes. And that can help to fine-tune the Nigerian anti-doping system that can help the interest of the Nigerian athletes and by extension African athletes like we are discussing the case of Ghana. If Ghana does well, then Africa does well (Interviewee 3, Zimbabwe, Regional anti-doping officer).

In the quote above, the participant makes the point that anti-doping agencies do not have to overly rely on government as a source of funding but rather explore other avenues in the private sector. This view challenges the assertion by the literature which places funding as a governmental responsibility (Lapouble, 2024; Ndasauka & Makwinja, 2024). Instructively, WADA largely relies on funding from governments of the world, the United Nations and the Olympic movement (WADA, 2024). According to WADA, its major donors include some major governments of the world who make annual payments to WADA based on a regional formula adopted in 2001, formally known as the Copenhagen Declaration. As a continent, Africa was designated to pay 0.5 of the regional shares of anti-doping dues (WADA, 2024).

3.2. Institutional Mistrust

Institutional mistrust across multi-ecological layers and more specifically in the organizational layer of the Social Ecological Model (SEM) may negatively affect institutional capacity, further affecting the effective communication of anti-doping messages and coordination of the various governing bodies (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Weak anti-doping structures and engagements may lead to much skeptism in the social layer, and this may explain why athletes rely on interpersonal communication with coaches and peers for information on anti-doping. Primary data from the 12th African Games (WADA, 2019) paints a picture of a dopogenic environment littered with mistrust among and between the major sports governing bodies on the African continent.

Communication is key. Every MEO (Major Event Organizer) should value the importance of communicating all the relevant information regarding the anti-doping program in advance of the Games, for example through their own website, local media or the website of the Organizing Committee. In addition to mass communications to NOCs, which did not work on the occasion of the 12th edition of the African Games, we would highly recommend every Organizing Committee to establish an NOC extranet, allowing for better sharing of information to all participating nations. Anti-doping could benefit from such an extranet and make a lot of various materials available directly to NOCs via this channel (WADA, 2019, p. 33).

The WADA statement above points to the importance of timely anti-doping communication in advance of the Games through mass communication channels, NOC extranet and direct communication with International Federations concerning the organization of the African Games. Further, the empirical statement on institutional mistrust in Africa provides a good example of a breakdown in coordination which is distinct from Lapouble (2024)’s concept about the impact of lack of institutional capacity on anti-doping. One is a deliberate act and the other is clear lack of inability to perform a function due to resource constraints and capacity. The statement supports the SEMs view about the importance synchronized communication among and between all anti-doping institutions and the other layers of the ecological framework to ensure consistent messages and coordination of the various governing bodies. This is further reflected below:

Communication with IFs is an integral part of the success of an anti-doping program, it allows for the clear establishment of the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved and permits each party to openly present their expectations and requirements. This is particularly important when certain tasks are delegated to the IFs that will require them to prepare and plan accordingly. For future Games, the MEO and LOC need to explore more efficient ways of interactive communications with IFs and certainly need to prioritize this to be done as early as possible (WADA, 2019, p. 33).

Per the WADA statement, there was not a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities for the parties at the Rabat 2019 African Games. The noted communication problems at Rabat 2019 challenges the assumption of participatory communication which is associated with the institutional or community level of the SEM. According to a report by the Nation (2023), one of the feuding parties in the report, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) complained about the lack of communication from the African Union (AU) at the Rabat African Games 2019 games and announced plans to stage its own games in 2027.

At the Brazzaville 2015 African Games, the WADA (2015) report notes that the anti-doping program was impacted by “internal conflicts” between officials of the National Anti-Doping Agency and the head of the Anti-Doping Sub-Commission (ADSC) and this affected “communication on every aspect of the anti-doping program” (WADA, 2015, p. 6).

From the above quote, a breakdown in trust between macro-level policymakers and sports organizations had a major impact on the overall anti-doping program across the ecological levels. Thus, institutional mistrust is not only associated with the community level but rather across the multi-layers. The confusion at the ecological levels may create a dopogenic environment that makes athletes vulnerable to anti-doping rule violations (Backhouse et al., 2017).

3.3. Limited Event-Based/Interpersonal Communication

The SEM (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) posits that the personal, interpersonal, social and community levels must experience the same messages consistently across individual athletes, peers, family coaches, institutions and policy makers to cause behavioral change. In the end, the athletes’ dopogenic environment created by the mediating interactions provides the necessary surroundings, opportunities and conditions for anti-doping communication (Backhouse et al., 2017). The sample shows that most of the anti-doping education and information dissemination is done at mass events and in interpersonal communication between coaches and athletes, as opposed to a comprehensive national anti-doping program. A participant explains:

Tournaments and games offer platforms that help with education. So, beyond the meetings we will normally hold with the Chef de Missions and Chief Medical Officers, the training we do for them, so they return to their countries to disseminate this. I speak authoritatively in this area because I am a trainer of trainers and tend to be a team doctor. So that hits the individual level. Quiet recently, we have had the opportunity to do so on various media platforms, so I believe that because of these available platforms, we have been able to touch on the individual, the mass media, and the community levels. There is not an established program. Federations of Confederations might have established programs like that of the Confederation of African Football (Interviewee 11, Ghana, Continental anti-doping official).

The statement illustrates that officials are trained at major competitions and are supposed to transfer anti-doping knowledge and understanding to other officials and athletes, something that has proved to be not sustainable. This supports the view that owing to lack of funding and the establishment of anti-doping structures, anti-doping communication is limited to event-based training programs as evidenced by athlete engagements, workshops, and talk programs at major sports events like the Accra 2023 African Games (Lapouble, 2024). Participant alludes to the fact that there is a communication gap because event-based communication does not allow for systematic communication and may not penetrate to the grassroots, and this may account for the low level of anti-doping knowledge among athletes and officials alike. Similarly, an interviewee noted that:

Of course, we know there are no resources, and we have not established our national anti-doping policy. So, we look at the event. If many athletes are going to attend, and the community is coming [then we go]. However, there are not as many events for the country as needed. We focus on the capital city where most of the people live. So, we need to get resources to cover the whole country (Interviewee 5, Namibia, National anti-doping officer).

The quote above illustrates the challenges anti-doping officers go through to get the job done. Thus, anti-doping communication is not systematically carried out at the individual, social and community levels and this may explain incidents of adverse findings against individual African athletes at the highest level of sports.

The literature shows that when anti-doping communication is done through influences like peers, coaches, family and institutional support, it can serve as important forces and deterrents to doping among athletes (Dimeo et al., 2012). The six sampled athletes were unanimous in their view about their coaches’ positive role-play in anti-doping communication (Interviewees 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Interviewee 16 (Cote D’Ivoire, Athlete) shared that with the support of his coach and sports psychologist, he gets access to valuable information on anti-doping to guide his training and activities. He said, “Yes, my coach and psychologist. He gave me many lessons in the sport [anti-doping]; I live in France. In Ivory Coast, I do not know”. This participant illustrates the disparity between the anti-doping effort in his home country Cote D’Ivoire, and in France where he is based. This is consistent with the literature on anti-doping knowledge in the western hemisphere and the global south (Ruwuya et al., 2022).

Most athletes expressed that they consult with their coaches on anti-doping issues. An athlete from Tunisia and an Ivorian athlete based in France indicated they consult with their federation, doctors, and coaches. The observation shows a strong interpersonal relationship between athletes and coaches and a further demonstration of the positive effect of the socio-ecological model and the athlete’s dopogenic environment. Thus, the study finds coaches to be very important in the fight against doping and anti-doping education in this respect, consistent with the literature (Dimeo et al., 2012). In the modern era, coaches found to have colluded with athletes in doping violations can be banned together with the athletes.

One participant (Interviewee 17, Tunisia, Athlete) reports that every athlete in his national team was tested before attending the Accra 2023 African Games: “They did do some test for us before we came [to the Accra 2023 African Games] and every athlete turned out with nothing [not positive]. Another athlete said she participated in an anti-doping course on WADA’s ADEL [Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform] platform before departing for the Accra 2023 African Games. She recounts her experience after attending a workshop on doping:

Well, we had a course in Mauritius, and I had to do a course for beach volleyball through the federation. We did that, so we know a little bit. It helps. Sometimes, we take some supplements, and we do not know if it is legal or not. Not only legal but whether it is (classified) as doping or not. Having precise (information) from WADA is good (Interviewee 14, Mauritius, Athlete).

From the quotation, Participant demonstrates a “little” knowledge of anti-doping after attending a prior course and has gained some invaluable knowledge on anti-doping. One other participant acknowledged participating in previous anti-doping programs in the national team and at major sports events such as the Olympics but complained about the quality of the latter program and its effect on athletes. The participant shared reservations: “I do not think the anti-doping officers have been well thought about doping. They told me not to take vitamin C and drink some drinks. However, I told them (other national team athletes) it was ok to take them” (Interviewee 13, Ghana, Athlete). The participant explained that athletes became afraid after the anti-doping workshop at the Africa Games 2023 and shared how ineffective anti-doping communication can compound the woes of athletes as they seek to comply with WADA’s guidelines. The view by Interviewee 13 raises further issues about the feedback mechanism in anti-doping communication generally and in Africa specifically. Thus, suggesting a bottom-up communication approach and feedback mechanism that places athletes at the centre of the anti-doping communication milieu as elucidated by WADA during its meeting with African sports ministers in February 2024.

A participant also explains how athletes’ attitudes to anti-doping educational programs can affect individual athletes’ anti-doping rule violations:

Most of the doping cases you hear (in Africa) are because of negligence or I say, in quote, stupidity, naivety and some of them, it’s because the communication is not there, or somebody decided to take home, ‘an I don’t care attitude’. I would not say that all those heads of communication are elites because communication does not penetrate that much (Interviewee 2, Nigeria, Continental anti-doping official).

From the above, the participant identified a negative attitude to anti-doping education and a lack of elite communication specialist in the anti-doping milieu in Africa. The former point resonates well with Ndasauka & Makwinja (2024) who argue for anti-doping to be understood within African realities while the latter point about the lack of specialist human resource communication is consistent with the lack of institutional capacity concept per Lapouble (2024).

3.4. Limited Technology Use

Within a fast-changing world, technology can provide a useful tool disseminate information and education on anti-doping at a much faster rate to all four layers of the ecological order comprising policy, institutions, social and athletes (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Participants gave a mixed response to the use of inexpensive communication technologies to facilitate anti-doping communication. On the one hand, administrators and anti-doping officers demonstrated knowledge and education on WADA’s Adel e-learning platform. However, only one athlete said she had taken part in an Adel course before the Accra 2023 African Games. Interviewee 2 (Nigeria, Continental anti-doping officer) shares that:

The whole thing about WADA and Africa is, we say if you want to hide anything from a black man or Africans, put it in the book. My training and work have prepared me for many things. I tell you, most of these things, I did not go for any formal training. I chair a task force, and WADA has made things so simple. WADA has a platform called ADEL, an educational anti-doping learning platform where you can pick a whole lot of things. I have gotten certificates for not less than 35 from almost over 100,000 levels. I did over 30 certificates. So, for most of these things, you need to go into books. It is online. There is a whole lot of empowerments you can get. In fact, I can talk confidently with anybody about anti-doping today based on empowerment (Interviewee 2, Nigeria, Continental anti-doping Officer).

Interviewee 2 (Nigeria, Continental Anti-Doping Official) demonstrates knowledge and information about anti-doping using WADA’s Adel platform and explains how the ADEL platform can be utilized to educate the four layers of communication comprising policy, institutions, social and athletes. There are obvious benefits to the programs on the platform. However, Interviewee 4 (Tanzania, anti-doping Officer) explains that the Adel platform is elitist and can present language challenges to some athletes. That is:

We use that (WADA’s Adel platform). But when you use that, you reach a few athletes, those elites, international stars, and whatever. Even when you go to the WADA anti-doping system, there is a program called doping e-learning. There is much information on that program -updated information about anti-doping. However, the module is in French, and our colleagues do not know English or French. All of Tanzania know Swahili regardless of the local language. We have over 120 languages in Tanzania. All of Tanzania speaks one language: Swahili. So, it is difficult because you can find new information there using the Adel system, but the technology and language barrier make it challenging to reach them (Interviewee 4, Tanzania, Anti-Doping Officer).

The quote above shows the anti-doping officer is in tune with technological advances but she noted language barrier as an important factor hindering the smooth communication process. This consistent with Ndasauka & Makwinja (2024) who argue that a one-size fits-all approach to communication may not be suitable for Africa, given the different languages and complex geographical regions.

Similarly, Interviewee 5 (Namibia, Anti-Doping Officer) expressed knowledge about the Adel platform but said, “It is for “our elite athletes. It is e-learning and not for in-person”. Another participant, Interviewee 3 (Zimbabwe, Regional Anti-Doping Officer), shared that anti-doping agencies encourage athletes to use communication technologies to improve their health outcomes, but it is a process. He mentioned, “We are trying. It is a process. We can’t say we have failed now, or we have succeeded. But it is a process”.

Other participants acknowledge that the Adel app does not guarantee that every athlete can navigate it, especially since it may not be friendly for those without smartphones due to certain features. This makes Interviewee 1(Uganda, Sports administrator) share that:

Getting reception to app use is not 100% due to the quality of phones, and low literacy levels among athletes,” adding that the timing of the International Olympic Committee’s Athlete 360 app engagement at significant championships is not the best (Interviewee 1(Uganda, Sports administrator).

A participant acknowledged using different smartphones to check and monitor their heartbeat rate. For instance, Interviewee 18 (Ghana, Athlete) admits to using an Apple smartphone for health purposes: “I use an Apple Smart watch to measure my heart rate, the distance I walk, and weight.”

However, the same athlete denied knowledge about the WADA Adel app despite having competed in the highest level of athletics at the World Championships and World Relays. This participant further showed a keen interest in discovering more about the app during the interview. Interviewee 18 spoke about his experiences using the tablet to answer questions on doping at WADA athlete engagement booths across previous international events he attended.

Others described how they gained more knowledge about doping and anti-doping during their visits to the WADA Athlete-engagement booths at international sports events than from the local Ghana anti-doping office. Interviewee 12 (Ghana, Sports Administrator) narrates that:

At the African level, when you go to the games, they have a tent when you get there, they give you a cup and T-shirts. There is no structural program to educate African athletes about anti-doping. World Athletics is doing well. Every time we go to the World Championships, there is a seminar on anti-doping or a seminar for safe sports and ethics (Interviewee 12, Ghana, Regional Sports Administrator).

Visiting the WADA premises, learning, interacting with their equipment, and answering anti-doping questions on computers and tablets were a testament to gaining some knowledge of the subject matter. Thus, an athlete’s environment and surroundings affect the knowledge acquired and reflect the concept of a dopogenic environment (Backhouse et al., 2017), which plays a key role as an incentive for new information acquisition. Some informants believe that doping in Africa is fast growing out of proportion, and there is a need for a hands-on approach to tackle the menace.

4. Strengths and Limitations

The present study is one of the first to focus on anti-doping communication on the African continent. The first author (EK) had a field trip to the Accra 2023 African Games to witness at first hand the anti-doping communication structure for Africa’s most prestigious multi-sports events. The research sample had a good representation of all five regions of Africa including West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, North Africa and Southern Africa. The sample had a good mix of athletes, sports administrators, and national, regional and continental anti-doping officers.

However, our study had some limitations on its sampling procedure. It must be noted that we could not meet our initial target of 25 participants and settled for 18. This was due in part to some participants’ unwillingness to take part in the controversial issue of anti-doping. In the event, we relied on convenience sampling using contacts at Athletics Ghana. The reliance on Athletics Ghana for participants did not have an influence on the outcome of the interviews. The facilitatory role of familiarity is a topic that has been explored in research elsewhere and is not deemed to have a detrimental effect leading to possible research bias (Rodriquez et al. (2015); Weinreb et al. (2018). We relied on in-depth interviews with participants but in the future, we can explore focus group discussions to get a broader view of anti-doping communication within group dynamics.

4.1. Implications for Practice and Future Research

The insights gained in this study offer academic value and useful information about how an athlete’s environment affects anti-doping. The findings show the role of policy makers in the overall anti-doping communication milieu and how this tends to affect communication to individual athletes in the African context. Again, in the African context, our findings show the intricate relationships between political interest in anti-doping on one hand, and funding, socio-economic context and a lack of understanding and knowledge. Elsewhere, the literature shows the direct relationship between political interest in anti-doping and funding in the specific cases of the decision by the United States of America to withhold funding the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) over the latter’s controversial handling of the Chinese doping scandal in 2024. Similarly, Russia delayed its annual dues to WADA, blaming it on financial transactional challenges caused by Western sanctions following its evasion of Ukraine.

The research shows that athletes rely on their coaches for anti-doping information and education. Given the challenges athletes face in accessing anti-doping communication, the phenomenon leads to questions about how the close athlete-coach relationship can be enhanced and exploited to provide much needed education to the athletes. This requires an understanding of how and why athletes can be integrated into a policy framework that focuses on using influencers like family coaches to serve as important forces and deterrents to doping in sports (Dimeo et al., 2012).

The technological limitations African athletes face in accessing anti-doping communication via WADA’s Adel platform raises another important topic for future research. For some athletes, it is an issue of not having the right technology for example a phone. Others have challenges with language barrier.

It becomes apparent that any attempt to address effective anti-doping communication must adopt a multifaceted approach that ensures integrative communication between and among all stakeholders from the policy level to institutions, social to personal or individual athletes. The matter requires a radical approach to persuading policymakers to get interested and understand the importance of anti-doping in sports and the need to place athlete welfare at the center of sports.

5. Conclusion

Our sample of officials and athletes at the Accra 2023 African Games sought to understand factors affecting anti-doping communication with a particular focus on Africa. Four main themes emerged from the study demonstrating the impact of political interest and institutional mistrust on anti-doping communication in Africa. The study shows anti-doping communication is limited to events and interpersonal communication and there is limited use of technology in anti-doping communication education. Relying on the socio-ecological model and the dopogenic environment thesis, it becomes evident that anti-doping communication is affected by personal (education and information, low technology use, language barrier), social (social support and influence: coaches), institutional (mistrust among sports institutions, lack of coordination, limited/event-based communication), and public policy (lack of knowledge awareness, funding, socio-economic status of African nations). Given the structural deficiencies identified in the anti-doping environment in Africa, the study recommends that anti-doping communication must adopt a multifaceted approach that ensures integrative communication between and among all stakeholders from the policy level to institutions, social to individual athletes. The matter requires a radical approach to persuading policymakers to get interested and understand the importance of anti-doping in sports and the need to place athlete welfare at the center of sports.