Willingness to pay and the valuation of programmes for the prevention and control of influenza

In this paper, we consider the role of willingness to pay (WTP) as a method for measuring the impact of healthcare programmes on population well-being . Alternative methods of outcome valuation, such as quality-adjusted life-y ears (QALYs), measure values through individuals' willingness to trade off a particular commodity, future life. Moreover, the method of valuation fail s to incorporate several dimensions of benefit relevant to measuring well-b eing that are particularly important in programmes aimed at the prevention and control of influenza. In contrast, WTP provides a broad method of valua tion based on individuals' willingness to trade off a much wider range of c ommodities. In addition, WTP incorporates externalities and uncertainty wit hin individual valuations. We show that the main limitations of the WTP app roach are not avoided by adoption of the QALY approach.