Background: The World Anti -Doping Agency (WADA) specifies substances that \ncompetitive sportspersons are not allowed to take. Some of these substances are contained in \ncommon medicines used in everyday medical practice and could be used by athletes by accident. \nObjectives: This study aimed to explore pharmacistsâ?? knowledge and confidence in guiding athletes \nabout the use of medicines in professional sport. Methods: Registered pharmacists in Australia were \ninvited to participate in an online survey. The survey had five domains and aimed to identify \npharmacistsâ?? demographic information, interest in sport, familiarity with WADA guidelines, \nknowledge on prohibited drug classes, and their opinion about the role of pharmacists in educating \nathletes on medication use. Descriptive statistics were provided and where appropriate, Chi -square, \nMannâ??Whitney and independent t -test were used to identify potential associations and difference \nbetween means. Results: One hundred and thirty -five pharmacists (response rate of 10.6%) \ncompleted the survey, with the majority indicating that they were not confident in advising athletes \non medication use. Although most respondents believed that pharmacists have a role in the \neducation of athletes to help avoid unintentional doping, only about a quarter indicated that they \nhad sufficient knowledge to advise athletes. About one -half of the respondents could provide fully \ncorrect answers when asked to identify the WADA status of some commonly used drugs. \nConclusions: The results of the survey indicate that upskilling is required to enable pharmacists in \nAustralia to provide accurate medication advice to professional athletes
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