The influence of information and private versus public provision on preferences for screening for prostate cancer: a willingness-to-pay study

This study investigates the influence of information and public versus private provision on preferences for introducing screening (i.e. PSA-test) for prostate cancer in Denmark. The aim is to disclose if preferences (measured as willingness-to-pay) are influenced by whether the service is provided by the private or public health care sector, and the extent to which negative information on the PSA-test influences the perceptions of the screening programme. It is also investigated whether the impact of information differs dependent on public-private provision. A random sample of the Danish male population (all between 50 and 70 years of age) were invited to fill out a web-based questionnaire. It was found that two thirds of the respondents were willing to participate and willing to pay for a public intervention programme, when provided with all relevant information. In contrast, only approximately one third were so inclined if a prostate cancer screening service was offered by private clinics. Results suggest that public provision framing increases the perceived value of the screening programme, and that the provision of full information regarding the negative characteristics of the programme decreases programme valuation.