A willingness-to-pay assessment of parents' preference for shorter duration treatment of acute otitis media in children.
OBJECTIVE
To assess parental willingness to pay (WTP) for a shorter course of antibacterial treatment versus conventional antibacterial therapy for acute otitis media (AOM).


METHODS
The study population consisted of 562 parents of children who had been seen and treated by a paediatrician for an episode of AOM between February and November 2002 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At the end of the AOM treatment, a questionnaire that included demographic information about the parents and child, details of the child's AOM history, a global wellbeing (i.e. quality of life) assessment, an evaluation of treatment compliance and a scripted WTP question was administered over the telephone. Descriptive analyses were performed in addition to a multivariate analysis to estimate possible predictors of parental WTP.


RESULTS
The children with AOM were representative of the AOM patient population, with 46% being <2 years of age and the majority attending day-care or school. Parents were willing to pay a median of 31.66 Can dollars (2002 values) for a mono-dose (one dose, on 1 day) and 26.63 Can dollars for a tri-dose (one dose daily, for 3 days) antibacterial treatment. Regression analyses demonstrated that the amount parents were willing to pay was positively associated with increasing household income, increasing number of AOM episodes during the previous year and experiencing adverse effects of treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Parents of children with AOM were willing to pay more for their child to benefit from a shorter duration of antibacterial treatment than for a standard course. Short duration of treatment appears to be associated with better compliance and parents' perception of better general wellbeing for their child.
Gueylard Chenevier
Delphine
D
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
LeLorier
Jacques
J
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011331:Private Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D018058:Tympanic Membrane Perforation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents