Willingness to Pay in Choosing Pre-hospital Emergency Services in Iran: A Population-Based Discrete Choice Experiment

Elham  Ehsani-Chimeh; Leila  Keikavoosi-Arani; Behzad  Zohrevandi; Amirhossein  Asghari; Enayatollah  Homaie Rad

doi:10.18502/htaa.v8i2.15629

Elham Ehsani-Chimeh National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Leila Keikavoosi-Arani Department of Healthcare Services Management, School of Health, Research Center for Health, Safety and Environment, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
Behzad Zohrevandi Guilan Road Trauma Research Center, Trauma Institute, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
Amirhossein Asghari Guilan Road Trauma Research Center, Trauma Institute, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
Enayatollah Homaie Rad Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Trauma Institute, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/htaa.v8i2.15629

Keywords: Ambulance; Pre-hospital Emergency; Preferences; Willingness to Pay (WTP); Discrete Choice Experiment; Iran

Abstract

Providing pre-hospital emergency services is accessible in Iran but costly for the country’s health system. This study calculated the willingness to pay (WTP) for pre-hospital emergency services in Iran. Discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to measure the population’s WTP for ambulance services focusing on time, price, and quality of services. Four hundred and sixty people in Rasht city, Iran, participated in this online survey. Participants preferred lower transfer fees (β = -0.7, P ˂ 0.05), lower time of reaching to the scene (β = -0.061, P ˂ 0.05), lower time to arrive to the hospitals (β = -0.038, P ˂ 0.05), Private ambulance (β = -0.151, P ˂ 0.05), and emergency medical services (EMS) technicians (β = 0.209, P ˂ 0.05). Patients’ WTP in selecting EMS services can help policymakers to provide the best services.