title: The influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare services among the elderly.
abstract: Reference price has been postulated in the consumer behavior literature to be an important determinant of new product acceptance in the marketplace. This study was undertaken to assess the influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare transportation services among the elderly. Over five hundred elderly, chosen at random, were studied in a major metropolitan area. The proposed new healthcare transportation services were: a shuttle service (from the hospital to a satellite healthcare center) and an escort service (from the hospital to the patient's home). The results show that reference price is the main influence on the acceptance of the shuttle service superseding the effects of the traditional demographic variables of gender and marital status. However, reference price was not found to be an influence on the acceptance of the escort service. It appears that the use of reference price as a guide in the acceptance of a new product is not universal but rather contingent on the product being offered.
authors.affiliation: DePaul University, USA.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chhabra
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Baran
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005249:Fees and Charges; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010354:Patient Escort Service / Q000191:economics; D014186:Transportation; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population