BackgroundNot much is known about hypertension patients’ preferences for attributes of public medical facilities in Nigeria and how these preferences influence their choices of medical facilities for treatment. An understanding of what these patients want especially in terms of service delivery could contribute to improved hypertension control.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine hypertension patients’ preferences for attributes of a public medical facility in Ibadan, Nigeria.MethodsA Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) that utilized three hypothetical medical facilities was used for the study. A simple random sample (SRS) of 150 eligible hypertension patients was selected from a secondary medical facility in Ibadan, Nigeria. An efficient D-optimal choice design was adopted and used in generating nine hypothetical choice sets for the experiment. Each patient was expected to study the nine sets carefully and choose an option from each of the sets. The first choice set was repeated as the tenth set to examine respondents’ consistency. The DCE questionnaires were administered using a one-to-one interview method. A mixed logit regression modeling technique was used to obtain parameter and Willingness to Pay (WTP) estimates.ResultsThe patients preferred medical facilities with waiting time before consultation with medical doctors to be between thirty minutes and one hour. The attribute level ‘‘a lot of information’’ was the most preferred. The patients were unwilling to pay for the “little or no drugs and diagnostic equipment” attribute level. A negative and significant coefficient for cost indicated that higher out-of-pocket costs negatively affected hypertension patients’ choice of a public medical facility.ConclusionHypertension patients attending a public medical facility in Ibadan, Nigeria preferred a facility with access to comprehensive information about their health in addition to reasonable waiting times, availability of a lot of drugs and diagnostic equipment, and reduced out-of-pocket costs. Provision of healthcare services that align with these preferences could enhance patient satisfaction thus contributing to improved hypertension control.
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