Y-ECCO/ClinCom Survey 2026: Sex, intimacy and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): A survey of current practices in communication, consent and postoperative support


Welcome to ECCO'26! 

Please complete the Y-ECCO/ClinCom Survey 2026 "Sex, intimacy and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): A survey of current practices in communication, consent and postoperative support" by Dr. Shivani Joshi, Clinical Research Fellow at the Robin Phillips Fistula Research Unit, St Mark's Academic Institute.

As a thank you for your participation, all survey participants are invited to submit their email address for an annual lottery drawing of 3 x ECCO Interaction Tickets for  the ECCO Congress 2027.

There are 25 questions in this survey.

Section 1: Demographics

1. What is your specialty?
Gastroenterologist
Colorectal surgeon
IBD specialist nurse
Other (e.g. paediatricians, clinical psychologists, medical students), please specify:
2. Country of practice:
3. Years of experience with IBD patients:
< 5 years
5 – 10 years
11 – 20 years
> 20 years
4. Approximately how many IBD patients do you manage per year?  
< 50 per year (or operate < 10 per year)
51-150 per year (or operate 11-50 per year)
151-300 per year (or operate 51-100 per year)
>300 per year (or operate > 101 per year)

Section 2: Communication about sex

5. Do you perceive sex and intimacy to be a topic of importance?
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

6. How often do you discuss sex with your IBD patients? For example, how their disease is affecting sex, how their treatment/surgery might affect their sex life.

 

Never – I do not discuss sex and intimacy in my routine clinical practice
Rarely – I do discuss sex and intimacy in my routine clinical practice, but only if the patient brings it up first, and not often
Sometimes – I do sometimes discuss sex and intimacy in my routine clinical practice, sometimes if the patient brings it up and sometimes if I feel it is relevant
Often – I usually discuss sex and intimacy in my routine clinical practice, and certainly if the patient brings it up, but not always
Very frequently – I very frequently take the initiative, unprompted, to discuss sex and intimacy in my routine clinical practice
7. At which stage in the patient's journey are these issues typically discussed? 
Diagnosis
During routine follow-up
Preoperative counselling
Postoperative care
Only if patients raise the issue
Not at all
 Please tick all that apply
8. Who usually initiates the conversation?
Clinician
Patient
Nurse specialist
No-one
9. How confident do you feel discussing concerns around sex?
Not at all confident
Somewhat confident
Confident
Very confident
10. Have you received formal training in addressing sexual health issues?
11.A What are the biggest barriers to discussing sexual health with your IBD patients? (Please rank in order of significance  )
Time constraints
Lack of training
Discomfort with topic
Cultural / language barriers
Patient discomfort
 

Please drag and drop the answers in the free box.

The highest one will be the most important to you, whille the lowest one will be the least important to you.

11.B Are there any other barriers to discussing sexual health with your IBD patients? If yes, please specify.

12. Do you use any validated questionnaires as part of your evaluation of sex and intimacy for these patients?

 

Yes, please specify which questionnaires you use:
No
Unsure
13. Do you think an ideal questionnaire exists for evaluation of sex and intimacy for these patients?
Yes, please specify:
No
Unsure

Section 3: Informed Consent (if relevant to your practice)

14. Do you consent patients for IBD Surgery (perineal or abdominal)?
If yes, complete section 3
If no, continue to section 4

15. Do you include impact on fertility as part of your pre-op informed consent?

Yes, always
Sometimes
Only if high risk
No

16. Do you include impact on sexual function (e.g. vaginal narrowing, erectile dysfunction, loss of sensation, dyspareunia, anorgasmia) as part of your pre-op informed consent? 

 

Yes, always
Sometimes
Only if high risk
No
Not applicable

17. Which procedures do you discuss sexual function for?

 

Stoma formation
IPAA (pouch formation)
Pouch excision
Proctectomy
Fistula surgery - anal
Fistula surgery – vaginal
Not applicable
Other, please specify:
 Tick all that apply.

Section 4: Psychosexual Support Services

18. Are any of the following psychosexual support services available at your centre?

 

Psychosexual therapist
Pelvic floor physiotherapist / IBD nurse with training in psychosexual health
None
Not sure
Other, please specify:
 Please tick all that apply.

19A. Do you believe current psychosexual support for IBD patients is adequate in your centre?

 

Yes
No
Not sure
19B. Do you believe current psychosexual support for IBD patients is adequate in your country?
Yes
No
Not sure
20. What do you this is needed to improve psychosexual support for IBD patients? 

21. Would you support ECCO developing psychosexual guidelines for IBD patients?
Yes
No
Not sure

ECCO Interaction: Hearts and Minds

22. Do you want to participate in the ECCO Congress Lottery for a free ticket to the ECCO Interaction: Hearts and Minds at the ECCO'27 in Copenhagen?
23. Great! Now please enter your name, surname and email address: