As you may know, problems with your anus or rectum (bottom) can affect your sex life and wellbeing. While surgeons are well trained to fix these problems, they do not necessarily consider the impact this may have on your sex life.
We are performing a study to explore the impact that anal operations have on the wellbeing of men who have receptive anal intercourse (bottoming). We want to know how surgeons address anal sex when treating patients who have receptive anal sex (bottoming). We hope that your answers will change the way surgeons think about the impact of anal surgery and lead to better training for surgeons, and better outcomes for patients.
Inclusion criteria are:
- Men (cis or trans) who have had receptive anal intercourse (including toys) with a man within the last 5 years and who have undergone a procedure for an anal, perianal or low rectal condition by a surgeon within the last 3 years
- live in and consulted a surgeon within Australia
- are over 18 years old
The survey can be found here: https://surveys2.utas.edu.au/index.php/256181
Invitation
You are invited to participate in this study to better understand the interaction between surgeons and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who have undergone surgery for non-cancerous anorectal conditions. Results from the study may identify ways to improve the training of surgeons and how they communicate with and support patients in relation to sexual wellbeing. The information we obtain may be used to make recommendations to surgical training bodies for the education of surgeons and trainee surgeons, and lead to the development of post-anorectal surgery guidelines for return to sexual intercourse.
What is the aim of the project?
We are exploring the impact of anorectal surgical conditions and operations on the wellbeing of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men through a questionnaire and/or confidential interview. We also want to know whether the surgeon explored sexual function at all when discussing the procedure you had, and how comfortable you were talking to your surgeon about this.
We also want to know if patients referred from an LGBTQIA friendly or sexual health specific practice had a better experience than those referred from regular GPs.