A Cross-cultural Investigation of the Factors and Biases Involved in the Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources

Abstract

In this study Spanish and English lay participants were given minimal demographic information regarding 16 hypothetical patients, and were required to rank them in order of priority for a kidney dialysis machine. The patients differed in terms of their gender, smoking behaviour, political affiliation and place of birth. These factors were combined factorially, so that each of the 16 patients presented a unique combination of attributes. The English sample showed a preference for local, female, non-smoking patients. The results for the Spanish sample were similar with respect to place of birth and gender, but smoking behaviour was not significant. Neither sample demonstrated a preference on the basis of political affiliation. The results suggest that certain demographic factors may bias the decision making of individuals or committees involved in the allocation of scarce medical resources.