#DopOut: Social network and peer education against doping

The #DopOut project consists of the sharing at EU level of a Uisp's tested best practice in social media communication, information and awareness raising campaign addressed to young people (11-18 years old) on the iussues of doping and “pharmacological pollution”(use of drugs and prescription medicines) in sports, aiming at protecting health, promoting the values of a clean sport and generate changes in behavioural choices of young people towards healthy lifestyles. The aim of the intervention was to raise awareness in adolescents, protect their health, promote the values of a clean sport by encouraging healthy behaviors and lifestyles. Intervention focused in school classes in different countries of Europe and “peer to peer” methodology have been set all life along. Topics and methodologies have been suggested by a “Methodology guide” provided and translated to all partner’s languages and has been the key-tool to standardize the intervention even if every partner could add, modify and personalize arguments in their schools. So, from September 2017 to June 2018, 385 students have been involved in topics regarding doping prevention, focusing the sport environment and unhealthy habits that adolescents could incur. The program focused on helping adolescents to develop skills for recognizing and critically evaluating the potential damaging effects of sport images in the media, which tend to suggest and support unrealistic views about the body and to elicit positive or alternative ways to conceive or develop media messages concerning sport and doping use. In addition, in line with previous media literacy interventions,the students involved have experienced the opportunity to develop and produce media messages and sensitization campaigns against doping use, according to targeting age peers practice. Hence, in DopOut intervention, participants play actively a leading role in the process of change of their attitudes and life skills. The success of the project therefore lies on acquisition of a beliefs system that negatively evaluate the doping use, and a substantial improvement in personal capability with on the youth sport's items, in particular the self-regulatory efficacy to overcome situations in which the use of doping would be very likely, to resist to social pressure which would encourage doping use, and to condemn this misconduct even when, due to particular circumstances, it could be morally justified. First four months, thanks to the “storyboard guidelines” provided for everyone, classes had to challenge each other to create the most original storyboard, an history designed by students in order to create the promotional video of the project. This phase has been very difficult for some classes, even though some works were very well done. From January to June the school classes focused their attention to disseminate to peer their works (images, video, interviews) created, in the period, through the social platforms, as best way to close their interests, the project's iussues by their own daily communication tools. Each partner organized in its city a sport event collaborating with local authorities, schools, sports clubs and “peers” with the aim to disseminate “#DopOut” values to empower young about healthy lifestyles. The young partecipants of street sport events that taken place in each Country, from June to November 2018, were totally no. 7870.In light of the above, the balance of project is very positive: after some initial problems in some countries to collaborate with schools, all activities have been realized in very different ways, spreading the focus messages, involving important sport and health stakeholders, bringing out an “innovative” methodology of action whereby the youngs have appropriate tools and culture to decide of their health. Partners have well collaborated on a common field, everyone adding an original job contributing at the dissemination by the media campaign.