title: [Social criteria for selecting patients in emergency services].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the social first-year and senior undergraduate students of a healthcare management course used for selecting patients who need emergency medical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of 64 first-year and 25 senior year students of a healthcare management course in São Paulo, Brazil, were studied. To collect data, a survey instrument was developed with nine hypothetical simulated case scenarios, including the social criteria involved in the patient selection process, such as age, sex, economical status, life-style, and social duty.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant differences in the two groups concerning criteria such as the patient's life-style and economic status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that the respondents accept the inclusion of social criteria in the decision-making process in a situation of scarce resources.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Prática de Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. pacfusp@usp.br
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Fortes
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Pavone Zoboli
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Spinetti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000191:economics; D004989:Ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors