Measuring commissioners' willingness-to-pay for community based childhood obesity prevention programmes using a discrete choice experiment

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1535 - 11
• Main Authors: Webb, Edward J D, Stamp, Elizabeth, Collinson, Michelle, Farrin, Amanda J, Stevens, June, Burton, Wendy, Rutter, Harry, Schofield, Holly, Bryant, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 12.10.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Child; Child health; Childhood obesity; Children; Choice Behavior; Commissioning; Costs; Decision making; Discrete choice experiment; Family; Female; Food intake; Fruit; Fruits; Government finance; Health policy; Health promotion; Humans; Male; Methods; Obesity; Parental education; Parents; Parents & parenting; Pediatric Obesity - economics; Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control; Preferences; Prevention; Public health; Service commissioners; State Medicine - economics; Supervisors (Local government); Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom; Vegetables; Willingness to pay; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; Childhood obesity; Parental education; Willingness-to-pay; Service commissioners; Discrete choice experiment
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-09576-7

In the UK, rates of childhood obesity remain high. Community based programmes for child obesity prevention are available to be commissioned by local authorities. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding how programmes are commissioned and which attributes of programmes are valued most by commissioners. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that decision-makers prioritise when commissioning programmes that target childhood obesity prevention. An online discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to survey commissioners and decision makers in the UK to assess their willingness-to-pay for childhood obesity programmes. A total of 64 commissioners and other decision makers completed the DCE. The impact of programmes on behavioural outcomes was prioritised, with participants willing to pay an extra £16,600/year if average daily fruit and vegetable intake increased for each child by one additional portion. Participants also prioritised programmes that had greater number of parents fully completing them, and were willing to pay an extra £4810/year for every additional parent completing a programme. The number of parents enrolling in a programme (holding the number completing fixed) and hours of staff time required did not significantly influence choices. Emphasis on high programme completion rates and success increasing children's fruit and vegetable intake has potential to increase commissioning of community based obesity prevention programmes.