An Exploratory Estimation of the Willingness to Pay for and Perceptions of Nature-Based Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases

Abstract

There is increasing evidence of the benefits of natural environments for human health. Interest is growing in nature-based therapy (NBT), organised initiatives that promote human–nature interactions with the aim of achieving positive health outcomes. Although the benefits of spending time in nature are now widely recognised, the public’s perspective of NBTs is still not well understood nor quantified. At the same time, chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease are on the rise, increasing costs and pressure for public health services. Using a sample of 96 respondents in Italy, this exploratory study investigates the economic value and perceptions of an NBT for cardiovascular disease. We employed the contingent valuation method to estimate marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for a nature-based rehabilitation programme compared to a standard indoor clinic-based programme. Logistic regression was used to estimate median WTP and influencing factors. We investigated the preferences of patients for the features and potential benefits of nature-based rehabilitation. We show that patients with cardiovascular disease in Italy have a positive WTP between EUR 14.01 to EUR 42.69 per day (median value EUR 27.26). Our findings indicate that NBTs could offer a promising alternative to standard indoor programmes. We provide recommendations for designing NBTs based on the preferences of our sample, aiming to contribute to sustainable health and land management policies.