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Adolescent, parent and societal preferences and willingness to pay for meningococcal B vaccine: A Discrete Choice
H S Marshall1, G Chen2, M Clarke3
1Robinson Research Institute, and School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5006, Australia.
Insights
Adolescents and parents prioritize meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine effectiveness, safety, and duration over cost. Higher effectiveness and fewer side effects significantly increase willingness-to-pay for MenB vaccination.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Vaccinology
- Health Economics
Background:
- Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines are increasingly available, but public funding varies globally.
- Understanding public preferences is crucial for vaccine policy and uptake.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess adolescent and parental preferences for key Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine attributes.
- To determine willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a MenB vaccine based on effectiveness, duration, and side effect profile.
Main Methods:
- A national cross-sectional study in Australia utilized Discrete Choice Experiment methodology.
- Survey data collected from 2003 adults and 502 adolescents in 2013.
Main Results:
- Higher vaccine effectiveness, longer protection duration, fewer adverse events, and lower cost increased likelihood of vaccination acceptance.
- For an ideal MenB vaccine, adolescents and parents indicated high willingness-to-pay (AU$251.60 and AU$295.10, respectively).
- Vaccine effectiveness and duration of immunity were significant drivers of WTP, with a slight fever being an acceptable side effect.
Conclusions:
- Vaccine effectiveness, adverse events, and duration of immunity are critical factors influencing MenB vaccine acceptance and WTP.
- These attributes should be central to public health discussions regarding MenB vaccine benefits, risks, and cost-effectiveness.
Objective:
Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines have been licensed in many countries with private purchase the only option until recently, when a funded programme was introduced in the UK. The aim of this study was to explore adolescent/parental values for a variety of salient vaccine attributes (cost, effectiveness, side effect profile) to assess preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a MenB vaccine.
Methodology:
A national cross-sectional population study was conducted in Australia using Discrete Choice Experiment methodology to assess adolescent/parent/adult preferences for attributes related to MenB vaccine.
Results:
2003 adults and 502 adolescents completed the survey in 2013. The majority of participants were willing to be vaccinated with MenB vaccine with vaccination opt-out chosen by 11.9% of adolescents and parents, and 18.2% of non-parent adults. A mixed logit regression model examining adolescent/adult preferences indicated consistent findings; the higher the effectiveness, the longer the duration of protection, the less chance of adverse events and the lower the cost, the more likely respondents were to agree to vaccination. For an ideal MenB vaccine, including the most favoured level of each attribute summed together (90% effectiveness, 10 year duration, 1 injection, no adverse events) adolescents would pay AU$251.60 and parents AU$295.10. Adolescents and parents would pay AU$90.70 or AU$127.20 for 90% vaccine effectiveness vs AU$18.50 or AU$16.70 for 70% effectiveness and would want to be financially compensated for 50% effectiveness; pay AU$63.30 or AU$76.40 for 10 years protection; and pay AU$48.50 or AU$49.20 for no vaccine related adverse events. A slight fever post vaccination was a preferred choice with parents and adolescents willing to pay AU$9.60 or AU$12.30 for this attribute.
Conclusions:
Vaccine effectiveness, adverse events and duration of immunity are important drivers for parental and adolescent decisions about WTP for MenB vaccine and should be included in discussions on the benefits, risks and cost.
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