Willingness to Pay for Cataract Surgeries Among Patients Visiting Eye Care Facilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background Cataract is the leading cause of avoidable blindness globally. It is estimated that 89% of people with visual impairment live in low- and middle-income countries where the cost of cataract surgery represents a major barrier for accessing these services. Developing self-sustaining healthcare programs to cater the unmet demands warrants a better understanding of patients' willingness to pay (WTP) for their services. Objectives Using a sample of patients visiting eye care facilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, we estimate WTP for two different cataract extraction techniques, namely small incision cataract surgery (SICS) and phacoemulsification. Methods We used contingent valuation (CV) approach and elicited WTP through double-bounded dichotomous choice experiments. We interviewed 556 randomly selected patients (283 for SICS and 273 for phacoemulsification)…