title: Barriers to serving the vulnerable: thoughts of a former public official.
abstract: In an environment of limited resources, the question of who is deserving and undeserving of assistance becomes critical. Policymakers' biases about whether a health condition is self-inflicted, as well as their perceptions about whether treatments are truly effective, play a major role--often unstated--in the allocation of resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. chfergus@gwu.edu
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D015438:Health Behavior; D006292:Health Priorities; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D011635:Public Health Administration; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012945:Social Values; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology*