Influence of Perceived Risk on Willingness to Pay for Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Diseases

The willingness to pay (WTP) comes in place to investigate the maximum amount that the population would pay for such diagnostic services. In this study, the perceived risk, willingness to pay (WTP) and the relationship of perceived risk and WTP for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is determined. This study was carried out in selected States of Malaysia. A total 1317 respondents aged 40 and above were recruited. Self-administrated questionnaire that consists of questions on socio-demographic and economic status and perception of risk of heart disease scale (PRHDS) and three open-ended questions to evaluate participant’s WTP value. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 22.0 was used to analyze the data and the significance level was set at p ≤ 0.1. The respondents showed overall low level of perceived risk towards CVD. Mean WTP values at three different level of diagnostic benefits considered were RM431.95, RM790.94 and RM1305.81 respectively. Study showed significant relationship between perceived risk and willingness to pay for diagnosis of cardiovascular disease which means high perceived risk was associated with high WTP. Higher scores on the PRHDS indicates a higher degree of risk perception. The mean was 2.3 out of 4.0, (S.D. 0.64), indicating the presence of low risk. The relationship between WTP for all three conditions and perceived risk were significantly correlated with Spearman’s correlation, ρ = 0.851, 0.873 and 0.886 respectively, significant at the 0.01 level. According to findings, the study population have low risk perception towards CVD. Results also showed that there was a relationship between perceived risk and WTP for the diagnosis of CVD. Basic education should be provided through talks and media campaigns to increase the awareness about CVD among general population.