OBJECTIVES: Given that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires long-term medication, understanding patient preferences through shared decision‑making is key to optimising treatment acceptance and adherence. This survey explored patients’ preferences for treatment attributes of the currently available advanced IBD therapies.

METHODS: Consenting patients (≥18 years) from seven European countries who self-reported being previously/currently treated for Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) participated in a cross-sectional online survey (Oct 2020 to Jan 2021), via the Carenity platform and local partnerships. Patients selected 1 hypothetical treatment for CD or UC among discrete choice experiment (DCE) questions. Two separate Latent Class Multinomial Logit (gmnl and mlogit function) models estimated heterogeneous preference weights and conditional relative importance between respondents with different characteristics for CD and UC independently. Relative importance of treatment attributes was estimated using conditional logit models.

RESULTS: Among 686 completed survey responses (CD, n=360; UC, n=326), mean age was 48.0 (CD) and 50.0 (UC) years. For patients with UC, route of administration and frequency of serious adverse events (AEs) were the most important attributes for treatment choice (attribute importance: 33% and 22%, respectively). Oral (P<0.001) and subcutaneous injections (P<0.01 and P<0.001 for injections every 1–2 and 4–12 weeks, respectively) were preferred over intravenous injections (every 4–8 weeks). Patients preferred treatment that minimised the risk of serious (P<0.001) or mild AEs (P<0.01)). For patients with CD, route of administration was the most important attribute for treatment choice (attribute importance: 31%, with patients preferring subcutaneous vs intravenous treatment [P<0.001 independent of injection frequency]).

CONCLUSIONS: DCE help identify nuanced preferences and ascertain the influence of attribute levels on treatment choice. Patients with UC or CD reported similar preferences for route and frequency of administration but differed on efficacy aspects, highlighting the importance of personalised care and shared decision-making in maximising treatment benefits.