Survey of parental willingness to pay and willingness to stay for "painless" intravenous catheter placement.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined how much parents are willing to pay and/or willing to stay to make their child's intravenous (IV) catheter placement painless.


METHODS
A prospective survey was conducted using a questionnaire administered to a consecutive sample of parents presenting to an emergency department (ED). Eligible subjects were parents accompanying a child 8 years of age or younger. A hypothetical visit to the ED, requiring an IV for their child, was described. Parents were asked if they would prefer to make the IV catheter placement painless and if so, how much of an increase in out-of-pocket cost (none, 15 dollars, and 100 dollars) and/or length of stay they would be willing to incur (no time, 15 minutes, 1 hour). Statistics were chiefly descriptive. Associations of demographic elements with willingness to pay and willingness to stay were analyzed using chi and t tests, where appropriate.


RESULTS
One hundred eight subjects were available for analysis. Most parents were mothers (71%), white (53%), and with previous IVs (70%). Most children were boys (55%) with no previous IV placements (55%). The choice of a painless IV placement was independent of demographics and IV experience. Most parents (89%) chose a painless IV placement. Of these parents, 65% chose a willingness to stay of 1 extra hour, and 77% a willingness to pay at least 15 dollars; 37% of parents would pay 100 dollars. Willingness to pay was dependent on both income (P = 0.014) and ethnicity (P = 0.0013). Willingness to stay was independent of both income (P = 0.24) and ethnicity (P = 0.07).


CONCLUSIONS
Parents are willing to spend both time and money to make their child's IV placement painless. This information should be considered when choosing therapies to reduce the pain of IV placement.
Walsh
Brooks Myrick
BM
Albany Medical College, NY, USA. walshb@mail.amc.edu
Bartfield
Joel Michael
JM
D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000191:economics; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000191:economics; D002404:Catheterization / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection; D016527:Drug Costs; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents