Table 3.
Parents’ Preferences and WTT for Enhanced Access and Other Attributes of Primary Care
| Attributes | Coefficient (SE)a | WTT (95% CI), minb | Importance Scorec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication outside of office visits | 8.4 | ||
| Telephone (office hours only) and no email | −0.242 (0.045)d | −6 (−8 to −4)e,f | |
| Telephone (24 h, 7 d/wk) and no email | 0.029 (0.042)e | 1 (−1 to 3) | |
| Telephone (24 h, 7 d/wk) and nonurgent email | 0.129 (0.041)d | 3 (1 to 5)d | |
| Telephone (24 h, 7 d/wk) and urgent and nonurgent email | 0.084 (0.043)e | 2 (0 to 4) | |
| Same-day sick visits | 29.0 | ||
| Rarely | −0.713 (0.054)d | −17 (−20 to −14)e,f | |
| Usually | 0.131 (0.040)d | 3 (1 to 5)e | |
| Always | 0.571 (0.053)d | 14 (11 to 16)e,f | |
| Walk in | 0.011 (0.043) | 0 (−2 to 2) | |
| Preventive visits, wk | 14.8 | ||
| Same day to 1 | 0.253 (0.044)d | 6 (4 to 8)e | |
| 1 to 2 | 0.143 (0.040)d | 3 (2 to 5)e | |
| 2 to 4 | 0.005 (0.046) | 0 (−2 to 2) | |
| 4 to 8 | −0.401 (0.043)d | −10 (−12 to −8)e,f | |
| Weekday hours | 5.2 | ||
| 3 Full days and 2 half days | −0.114 (0.025)d | −3 (−4 to −2)e,f | |
| 5 Full days | 0.114 (0.025)d | 3 (2 to 4)e | |
| Late hours, evenings | 13.9 | ||
| None | −0.417 (0.043)d | −10 (−12 to −8)e,f | |
| 2 | 0.077 (0.042) | 2 (0 to 4) | |
| 4 | 0.142 (0.039)d | 3 (2 to 5)e | |
| 5 | 0.198 (0.043)d | 5 (3 to 7)e | |
| Weekend hours | 12.5 | ||
| No weekend hours | −0.359 (0.044)d | −9 (−11 to −6)e,f | |
| Half day on Saturday | 0.060 (0.043) | 1 (−1 to 3) | |
| Full day on Saturday | 0.105 (0.041)e | 3 (1 to 4)e | |
| Half days on Saturday and Sunday | 0.193 (0.043)d | 5 (3 to 7)e | |
| Continuity | 16.3 | ||
| See same physician for nearly all visits | 0.361 (0.032)d | 9 (7 to 10)d | |
| See whoever is available | −0.361 (0.032)d | −9 (−10 to −7)e,f | |
| Travel time, min | −0.042 (0.003)d | ||
| Primary care office | |||
| Idealg | NA | 44 (37 to 51)e | |
| Goodh | NA | 19 (14 to 24)e | |
| Good with fewer weekday hoursi | NA | 13 (8 to 18)e |
Abbreviations: NA, not available; WTT, willingness to travel.
Results using effects coding in a mixed logit model. Coefficients represent the change in utility for a respondent for a specific level of a given attribute.
Willingness to travel calculations are mean estimates derived from the mixed logit model without interactions.
The relative importance of each attribute is calculated as follows: for each attribute, the difference between the utilities of its levels is divided by the sum of the differences between the utilities for all of the attributes and multiplied by 100.24
P < .001.
P < .05.
Negative values represent the average amount of travel time that would have to be decreased for a parent to choose a practice with that characteristic.
Practice with most preferred attributes: telephone advice 24 hours a day and nonurgent email access, same-day sick visits always available, preventive visits available within 1 week, office open 5 full days a week, late hours 5 evenings a week, office open for half days on Saturday and Sunday, and professional continuity for nearly all checkups and some sick visits.
Practice with telephone advice 24 hours a day and no email access, same-day sick care usually available but could wait 1 to 2 days, preventive visits available within 2 to 4 weeks, office open 5 full days a week, late hours 2 evenings a week, office open for half days on Saturday, and professional continuity for nearly all checkups and some sick visits.
Practice with telephone advice 24 hours a day and no email access, same-day sick care usually available but could wait 1 to 2 days, preventive visits available within 2 to 4 weeks, office open 3 full days a week and 2 half days, late hours 2 evenings a week, office open 2 half days a week, and professional continuity for nearly all checkups and some sick visits.