Factors affecting patient valuations of caries prevention: using and validating the willingness to pay method

Christopher R. Vernazza, J.R. Wildman, John G. Steele, John M. Whitworth, Angus W.G. Walls, Ross Perry, Roger Matthews, Petra Hahn, C. Donaldson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)
161 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objectives Determining the value of, or strength of preference for health care interventions is useful for policy makers in planning health care services. Willingness to pay (WTP) is an established economic technique to determine the strength of preferences for interventions by eliciting monetary valuations from individuals in hypothetical situations. The objective of this study was to elicit WTP values for a dental preventive intervention and to analyze the factors affecting these as well as investigating the validity of the WTP method. Methods Patients aged 40 years plus attending dental practices in the UK and Germany were recruited on a consecutive basis over one month. Participants received information about a novel root caries prevention intervention. They then completed a questionnaire including a WTP task. Where the coating was indicated, patients were offered this for a payment and acceptance was recorded. Analysis included econometric modelling and comparison of expected (based on stated WTP) versus actual behaviour. Results The mean WTP for the coating was £96.41 (standard deviation 60.61). Econometric models showed that no demographic or dental history factors were significant predictors of WTP. 63% of the sample behaved as expected when using stated WTP to predict whether they would buy the coating. The remainder were split almost equally between those expected to pay but who did not and those who were expected to refuse but paid. Conclusions Values for a caries preventive intervention had a large and unpredictable variance. In comparing hypothetical versus real preferences both under- and over-valuation occurs. Clinical significance Wide and unpredictable variation in valuations for prevention may mean that there are difficult policy questions around what resource should be allocated to dental prevention and how to target this resource.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)981-988
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Dentistry
Volume43
Issue number8
Early online date5 Jun 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2015

Keywords

  • preference-based measures
  • willingness to pay
  • caries
  • prevention

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