General Public Preferences for Allocating Scarce Medical Resources During COVID-19

COVID-19 has overwhelmed healthcare systems across the globe with an unprecedented surge in the demand for hospitalizations. Consequently, many hospitals are facing precarious conditions due to limited capacity, especially in the provision of ventilators. The governing ethical principles of medical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in public health 2020-12, Vol.8, p.587423-587423
Main Authors: Huseynov, Samir, Palma, Marco A, Nayga, Jr, Rodolfo M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
COVID-19
ethics
Female
Health Care Rationing - ethics
Hospitalization
Humans
Male
principles
Prognosis
Public Health
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
Resource Allocation
scarce
triage
Triage - ethics
United States
ventilators
Ventilators, Mechanical - supply & distribution
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Summary:COVID-19 has overwhelmed healthcare systems across the globe with an unprecedented surge in the demand for hospitalizations. Consequently, many hospitals are facing precarious conditions due to limited capacity, especially in the provision of ventilators. The governing ethical principles of medical practice delineated in (1) favor prioritizing younger patients, largely because of their relatively higher expected life years. We conduct a survey of the general public in the United States to elicit their preferences for the allocation of a limited number of ventilators. The results show that the general public views align with the established ethical principles, which favor younger patients. : C91.
ISSN:2296-2565
2296-2565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2020.587423