title: Socio-economic differences in preferences and willingness to pay for different providers of malaria treatment in southeast Nigeria.
abstract: This article determined whether there are links between socio-economic status (SES) and preferences of consumers for different strategies for improving timely and appropriate management of malaria. Ranking of preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for 5 different strategies for improving the management of malaria in Enugu State, southeast Nigeria were elicited from randomly selected respondents. The results showed that the people were also willing to pay for improved management of malaria, though the levels of WTP was dependent on the SES of the respondents, with the poorest SES group willing to pay the least amount of money. Also, the respondents generally mostly preferred timely and appropriate management of malaria through formal public healthcare system. Hence, to decrease the inequity in malaria management and ensure the ready availability of appropriate treatment to the poorest households, the government should increase the availability and accessibility of publicly owned healthcare services, complemented by community-based health services.
authors.affiliation: Gates Malaria Partnership, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. onwujekwe@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Obinna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Onwujekwe
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ojukwu
authors.forename: Nkoli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ezumah
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uzochukwu
authors.forename: Nkem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dike
authors.forename: Eze
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Soludo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D012923:Social Class
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials