The moral relevance of personal characteristics in setting health care priorities.
This paper discusses the moral relevance of accounting for various personal characteristics when prioritising between groups of patients. After a review of the results from empirical studies, we discuss the ethical reasons which might explain-and justify-the views expressed in these studies. The paper develops a general framework based upon the causes of ill health and the consequences of treatment. It then turns to the question of the extent to which a personal characteristic-and the eventual underlying ethical justification of its relevance-could have any relationships to these causes and consequences. We attempt to disentangle those characteristics that may reflect a potentially relevant justification from those which violate widely accepted principles of social justice.
Olsen
Jan Abel
JA
Department of Tromso, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. jano@ism.uit.no
Richardson
Jeff
J
Dolan
Paul
P
Menzel
Paul
P
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D004645:Empathy; D028663:Ethical Theory; D015438:Health Behavior; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000941:ethics*; D006292:Health Priorities / Q000145:classification / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000941:ethics; D040841:Resource Allocation / Q000941:ethics*; D012935:Social Justice; D012941:Social Responsibility