In the future, as our society becomes older and older, an increasing
number of people will be confronted with Alzheimer's disease. Some will
suffer from the illness themselves, others will see parents, relatives,
their spouse or a close friend afflicted by it. Even now, the
psychological and financial burden caused by Alzheimer's disease is
substantial, most of it borne by the patient and her family. Improving
the situation for the patients and their caregivers presents a challenge
for societies and decision makers. Our work contributes to improving the
in decision making situation con- cerning Alzheimer's disease. At a
fundamental level, it addresses methodo- logical aspects of the
contingent valuation method and gives a holistic view of applying the
contingent valuation method for use in policy. We show all stages of a
contingent valuation study beginning with the design, the choice of
elicitation techniques and estimation methods for willingness-to-pay,
the use of the results in a cost-benefit analysis, and finally, the
policy implica- tions resulting from our findings. We do this by
evaluating three possible programs dealing with Alzheimer's disease. The
intended audience of this book are health economists interested in
methodological problems of contin- gent valuation studies, people
involved in health care decision making, plan- ning, and priority
setting, as well as people interested in Alzheimer's disease. We would
like to thank the many people and institutions who have pro- vided their
help with this project.
