Willingness to pay for blood pressure self‐monitoring in people with prehypertension

Prehypertension is defined as blood pressure (BP) between 120–139/80–89 mmHg. It affects around 40% of adults, increasing their risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease-related conditions.

The “Risk rEduction interVEntion for Raised blood preSsurE” (REVERSE) feasibility study investigated whether self-monitoring of BP was acceptable and feasible for managing prehypertension. As part of REVERSE, a willingness-to-pay (WTP) analysis assessed the economic value of the BP self-monitoring intervention.

A WTP questionnaire asked participants how much and why they would be willing to pay for a BP machine and for additional support and training around BP self-monitoring. The associations between the total WTP amount (for the BP machine plus the additional support and training) and participants’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were investigated using generalized linear modelling (GLM).

WTP data was collected from 66 participants (median age: 58.50 years; females: 59.09%). Most of the participants (72.73%) lived in areas of low socioeconomic deprivation. The median total WTP amount was £41.37 in 2024 prices (interquartile range: £36.20–£93.09). The BP machine functions/facilities, the amount reflecting potential benefit, and being a reasonable value were the most cited reasons behind the valuations.

The GLM regression showed that higher WTP values were associated with the functions/facilities and potential benefit of the BP machine.

We believe this to be the first study to provide insights around the economic value of BP self-monitoring in prehypertension. Further research based on larger, and more representative, samples is needed to validate these findings.

Trial registration number: ISRCTN13649483