E-learning 'to help tackle drug use in 2012 Olympics'

Bringing thousands of people from all over the world to England's capital city, the London 2012 Olympic Games will become a learning archive through online resources.

E-learning modules for the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been announced which will provide packages educating users on the benefits of sport and fitness, PJ Online reports.

In collaboration with the Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) Clinical Pharmacy Services Group has implemented the use of a new revolutionary system which will help those operating on site and allow them to get information on the go.

The three polyclinic pharmacies at the athlete villages in Stratford, Eton Dorney and Weymouth are designed and well under construction. Furthermore, the package entitled 'The use of drugs in sport: a healthcare professional's perspective', are fully completed and ready for use as all pharmacy policies and procedures have been written.

According to the latest update for Pharmacy London 2012, David Mottram, who is involved in encouraging people to use the virtual learning materials, summarised the development of the e-learning package on fitness and lifestyle.

The package comprises three programmes including doping and anti-doping in sport, pharmacy services and support in sport and fitness, and medical services at international sporting events.

Aimed at the pharmacists operating as part of the Games, Mr Mottram suggested that the package is important to make sure they are fully aware of the issues surrounding drug and supplement use in sport and how to implement cautions and disciplinary action if incidents regarding misuse arise.

The pharmacists also have a role to advise members of the public who participate in sports and exercise about the risks of performance-enhancing drugs.

Online learning resources could help to raise awareness in conjunction with the experts.

Categories of drugs banned from sporting events such as the Olympics include anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, strong analgesic painkillers, stimulants and duiretics which can all have performance-enhancing effects which are deemed as cheating.

This article was originally posted at http://ping.fm/D7uep