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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Willingness-to-pay for pediatric cochlear implantation
T H Sach1, D K Whynes, C O'Neill
1School of Economics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. tracey.sach@nottingham.ac.uk
Insights
Parents expressed significant willingness to pay for pediatric cochlear implantation (PCI) programs. Most parents valued PCI programs highly, indicating their importance for improving children's quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Cochlear implantation is a critical intervention for pediatric hearing loss.
- Assessing parental valuation of pediatric cochlear implantation (PCI) programs is essential for resource allocation and policy development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct the first willingness-to-pay (WTP) study for a pediatric cochlear implantation program in the UK.
- To quantify the monetary value parents place on establishing and maintaining a national PCI program.
Main Methods:
- Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 216 parents of children in the Nottingham Pediatric Cochlear Implant program.
- Elicitation of WTP using bidding game and discrete choice questions.
- Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine income's influence on WTP.
Main Results:
- Mean and median monthly WTP were UK £127 and £50, respectively.
- WTP was positively correlated with parental income (P<0.020).
- 99% of parents prioritized the implant over alternative child benefit expenditures when income constraints were removed.
Conclusions:
- Parents demonstrated substantial WTP for pediatric cochlear implantation services.
- High parental valuation underscores the perceived unique benefits of PCI for improving child quality of life.
- WTP sensitivity to income suggests the elicited values are valid and reflect budget constraints.
Objective:
This paper presents the results of the first willingness-to-pay (WTP) study to be undertaken on cochlear implantation. It aims to measure the values parents place on the UK having a pediatric cochlear implantation (PCI) programme.
Methods:
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children from the Nottingham Pediatric Cochlear Implant programme, whom had been implanted for a period ranging from 1 month to 13 years. Parents willingness-to-pay for the UK to have a pediatric cochlear implantation programme were elicited using a bidding process question format and via a discrete choice question. To see if income was a significant determinant of willingness-to-pay an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was undertaken in the statistical package SPSS version 10.
Results:
Two hundred and sixteen parents were interviewed over the period July 2001-August 2002, representing over 130h of interviewing. The mean and median willingness-to-pay values elicited were UK pound 127 and 50 per month, respectively (UK pound 2001/2002). Willingness-to-pay was positively related to income (P<0.020). When the income constraint was removed, 99% of parents choose the implant over having the money the implant would cost to spend in some other way to benefit their child.
Conclusions:
Parents of implanted children were willing to pay substantial monthly amounts for pediatric cochlear implantation. Most parents saw no alternative to pediatric cochlear implantation that could improve their child's quality of life to the same extent. Willingness-to-pay was sensitive to income as expected suggesting that the values elicited are both valid and influenced by a respondent's budget constraint.