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Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation: Differences between experts and the general public and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic

Grover, S; McClelland, A; Furnham, A; (2020) Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation: Differences between experts and the general public and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Health Psychology , 25 (4) , Article e12439. 10.1111/bjhp.12439. Green open access

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Grover _Grover S; McClelland A; Furnham A; (2020) Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation- Differences.pdf - Accepted Version

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Abstract

This study concerns what lay people believe is the best way to allocate scarce medical resources. A sample of 515 individuals completed a short questionnaire asking them to rank‐order eight different ethical positions with respect to the allocation of scarce resources. They showed a strong preference for the ‘saves most lives’ and ‘sickest first’ options, with ‘reciprocity’ and a ‘lottery’ being least favoured. There was a reasonable degree of unanimity amongst respondents and comparatively few correlations with individual difference factors such as demography. The preference results are compared to expert recommendations (Emanuel et al ., 2020, N. Engl. J. Med ., 382 , 2049) made in light of the current coronavirus pandemic, and differences are highlighted. Implications for scare medical resource allocations are discussed, and limitations of the study acknowledged.

Type: Article
Title: Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation: Differences between experts and the general public and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12439
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12439
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: ethics, resource allocation, lottery, utilitarianism
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10103281
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