Caregivers’ Willingness to Pay for Digital Support Services: Comparative Survey

Considering the substantial information needs experienced by informal caregivers, the increased availability of digital support services for caregivers as well as the potential they offer, further understanding of caregivers’ willingness to pay for digital support services is needed. The aim of this study is to identify associations between informal caregiver’s characteristics and their willingness to pay for digital support services in two countries: Italy and Sweden. A sample of 378 respondents participated in a cross-sectional survey. Respondents were recruited by the Italian National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing and the Swedish Family Care Competence Centre. A two-part regression model was used to investigate the association between willingness to pay and the independent variables and to determine the adjusted mean willingness to pay. Caregiver’s gender, care recipient relationship to the caregiver, care duration, the total household income and the amount spent per month on professional caregiving service are all associated with willingness to pay. Factors such as demographics, socioeconomic resources and the caregiving context may play a role in caregivers’ willingness to pay for digital support services. Future research that evaluates the cost- effectiveness of digital support services is needed in a context of a growing number of informal caregivers and ever scarcer resources