Willingness to pay and preference for HPV vaccine among parents in China: A study based on a multi-center cross-sectional survey

This study assessed the willingness to pay (WTP), influencing factors, and preferences for HPV vaccine in different regions of China to support pricing and financing strategies. A cross-sectional survey was conducted across three provinces. The Vaccine Health Literacy Scale was used to measure vaccine literacy. Iterative bidding games investigated the WTP for 2/4/9-valent vaccines (domestic/imported). Tobit model was used to identify factors influencing WTP, while discrete choice experiment with 12 choice tasks evaluated preferences across five vaccine attributes: protective efficacy (69.1% vs. 92%), origin (domestic vs. imported), price (¥0–4,000), adverse event rate (low vs. high), and vaccination site (community clinic vs. hospital). An information intervention was introduced to explore the impact of information on consumer choices. 783 (99.49%) respondents were willing to vaccinate their children, with high average vaccine literacy among the overall population. The mean WTP for imported 2-valent, 4-valent and 9-valent vaccines were ¥1,929.39, ¥2,507.24, and ¥3,867.90 respectively, and ¥1035.83, ¥2,073.70, and ¥3,350.03 for domestic vaccine. WTP was positively correlated with income, vaccination attitude, and vaccine literacy, and inversely correlated with age (<i>p</i> &lt; .01). Price was the most critical determinant. Consumers strongly preferred for high protective efficacy, imported, low price, low adverse event rate, and vaccination at community clinic. The information intervention did not significantly affect choice preferences (<i>p</i> &gt; .05). WTP was higher than the market price, particularly for imported and higher-valent vaccines. Age, family income, vaccination attitude, and vaccine literacy were the main factors influencing the WTP. Consumers were inclined to choose vaccines that maximized their utility satisfaction and balanced the cost and safety.