Abstract
This study aimed to estimate the value of willingness-to-pay (WTP) for elderly care and study the
impact of factors on willingness-to-pay for the elderly care. A total of samples in this study were 420
people aged 18 years and older, living in Sa-Ad and Nongkung subdistricts, Namphong district, Khon Kaen
province. The study found that mean age of the samples was 57.6 years, 71.0% were females, 75.2%
had primary school education or lower, more than a half lived with a monthly household income of
<10,000 baht, more than a half reported having health problems, and 63.1% never provided care to
dependent elderly. The three major problems related daily activities reported were: 9.8% having difficulty
of physical movement, 8.3% feeling sick, and 6.9% having stress/depression. More than 90% of
respondents were willing to join and pay for the elderly care program. The mean value of willingness-to-pay
for the elderly care was 373.77 baht (SD=286.01). This study found that willingness-to-pay was significantly
associated with age, household income, smoking behavior, quality of life, selfcare problem, anxiety/
depression, willingness-to-join the care program and starting price (p < 0.05). The study also found
that WTP value was associated with household income, size of household, years of providing elderly
care, selfcare problem and starting price (p < 0.05). As willingness-to-pay for elderly care studies are still
limited in Thailand, findings of the present study could be good lessons for other areas or settings.
