Nguyen Phuong H, Hoang Minh V, Hajeebhoy Nemat, Tran Lan M, Le Chung H, Menon Purnima, Rawat Rahul
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA;
Center for Health System Research, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Glob Health Action. 2015 Aug 31;8:28001. doi: 10.3402/gha.v8.28001. eCollection 2015.
Alive & Thrive Vietnam, a 6-year initiative (2009-2014), has developed and incorporated elements of social franchising into government health services to provide high-quality nutrition counseling services to improve infant and young child feeding practices. One element of franchising that has not yet been implemented is fee for service, which is a potential financing mechanism for sustaining services in the long run.
This research aims to estimate maternal willingness to pay (WTP) for nutrition counseling services and to examine potential factors associated with their WTP.
Data were drawn from an impact evaluation survey of 2,511 women with a child <2 years old from four provinces in Vietnam. An iterative bidding technique was employed to explore individual WTP. The first bid was defined as VND 20,000 (~US$ 1), which was approximately the level of the actual service cost. Depending on the participant response, the bid increased or decreased. Finally, the respondents were asked about the highest price they would be willing to pay for the service.
Overall, 92.6% of clients reported a need for nutrition counseling services for children <2 years. The WTP rates at bid levels of VND 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 40,000, and 100,000 were 95.2, 94.4, 90.7, 68.9, and 33.4%, respectively. The mean and median of the maximum WTP were VND 58,500 and 50,000, respectively. In multiple regression models, WTP rates were higher among younger women, the Kinh majority group, and better educated and wealthier women.
A high demand for nutrition counseling coupled with a WTP by almost all segments of society would potentially cover costs of delivery for nutrition counseling services in Vietnam.
“活力与成长越南项目”是一项为期6年（2009 - 2014年）的倡议，已将社会特许经营的元素融入政府卫生服务，以提供高质量的营养咨询服务，改善婴幼儿喂养方式。特许经营中尚未实施的一个要素是服务收费，这是从长远维持服务的一种潜在融资机制。
本研究旨在估计母亲对营养咨询服务的支付意愿（WTP），并检验与其支付意愿相关的潜在因素。
数据取自对越南四个省份2511名育有2岁以下子女妇女的影响评估调查。采用迭代出价技术探索个人支付意愿。首次出价定为20,000越南盾（约合1美元），这大致是实际服务成本水平。根据参与者的回答，出价会增加或降低。最后，询问受访者他们愿意为该服务支付的最高价格。
总体而言，92.6%的客户表示需要为2岁以下儿童提供营养咨询服务。出价5000、10000、20000、40000和100000越南盾时的支付意愿率分别为95.2%、94.4%、90.7%、68.9%和33.4%。最高支付意愿的均值和中位数分别为58,500越南盾和50,000越南盾。在多元回归模型中，年轻女性、京族多数群体以及受教育程度更高和更富裕的女性的支付意愿率更高。
对营养咨询的高需求以及几乎所有社会阶层的支付意愿可能会覆盖越南营养咨询服务的提供成本。
