Enhancing Public Participation in Public Health Offerings: Patient Preferences for Facilities in the Western Cape Province Using a Discrete Choice Experiment

Plaxcedes Chiwire, Charlotte Beaudart, Silvia M. Evers, Hassan Mahomed and Mickaël Hiligsmann
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Plaxcedes Chiwire: Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
Charlotte Beaudart: Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
Silvia M. Evers: Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
Hassan Mahomed: Metro Health Services, Western Cape Government: Health and Division of Health Systems and Public Health, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7505, South Africa
Mickaël Hiligsmann: Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: Understanding patients’ preferences for health facilities could help decision makers in designing patient-centered services. Therefore, this study aims to understand how patients’ willingness to trade for certain attributes affects the choice of public health facilities in the Western Cape province of Cape Town, South Africa. A discrete choice experiment was conducted in two community day centers (CDCs). Patients repetitively chose between two hypothetical health facilities that differed in six attributes: distance to facility, treatment by doctors vs. nurses, confidentiality during treatment, availability of medication, first visit (drop-in) waiting times, and appointment waiting times. The sample consisted of 463 participants. The findings showed that availability of medication (50.5%), appointment waiting times (19.5%), and first visit waiting times (10.2%) were the most important factors for patients when choosing a health facility. In addition, respondents preferred shorter appointment and first visit waiting times (<2 h). These results identified important characteristics in choosing public health facilities in Cape Town. These public health facilities could be improved by including patient voices to inform operational and policy decisions in a low-income setting.

Keywords: discrete choice experiments; patient preferences; facility choice; health provider choice; stated preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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