Caregivers′ willingness-to-pay for a topical anesthetic cream for minor medical procedures in children

BACKGROUND: Topical anesthetic cream (TAC) is not in use in pediatric practice in Sub-saharan regions. Knowledge of Caregivers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the cream is necessary for its deployment. OBJECTIVE: To determine the WTP for TAC for minor pediatric painful procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a questionnaire-based conducted in two tertiary health institutions in southeast Nigeria. WTP was elicited using the contingent valuation method. The respondents were caregivers to children that attended out-patient clinics and in-patient. Data analysis was by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS) and STATA11. RESULTS: Majority (94%) of the respondents were willing to pay for TAC. The mean maximum WTP was US$8.31. Multivariate analysis showed no statistically significant association between many variables with WTP for TAC. CONCLUSIONS: Their average WTP was higher than the market price of topical anesthetic cream. Therefore, there is a good prospect for TAC if deployed in Nigeria.