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PRIORITIZATION ATTITUDES AMONG DOCTORS AND NURSES EXAMINED BY A SCENARIO METHOD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2001

Olli-Pekka Ryynänen ,
Markku Myllykangas ,
Juha Kinnunen ,
Pirjo Halonen  and
Jorma Takala
Olli-Pekka Ryynänen
Affiliation:
University of Kuopio
Markku Myllykangas
Affiliation:
University of Kuopio
Juha Kinnunen
Affiliation:
University of Kuopio
Pirjo Halonen
Affiliation:
University of Kuopio
Jorma Takala
Affiliation:
University of Kuopio
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Abstract

Objectives: To investigate doctors' and nurses' attitudes toward 14 potential prioritization criteria.

Methods: This study was performed by using the random paired scenario method. The respondents received a questionnaire with 12 pairs of scenarios, imaginary patient cases, each of which contained two to three different prioritization criteria (e.g., child, old patient, poor patient). Respondents were asked which one of each scenario pair they would choose if only one patient could be treated. The scenarios were randomly put into 30 different questionnaire sets. There was a random selection of 241 doctors and 151 nurses in Finland, with response rates of 60.3% and 50.3%, respectively.

Results: Doctors prioritized young patients, severe disease, expensive treatments and posteriorized (negatively prioritized) demented or institutionalized patients, and patients having a self-caused disease. Children were strongly prioritized, even over serious diseases. Expensive treatments appeared to be favored by doctors, and this result cannot be explained by severity of disease. Nurses' attitudes were similar to those of doctors.

Conclusions: Children were strongly prioritized. Elderly persons were posteriorized if they had dementia or were living in institutions. Patients having a self-caused disease are posteriorized, more often by nurses than by doctors.

Keywords

Priorities in healthRationingDecision makingMedicalizationEmpirical study
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 92 - 99
Copyright
© 2000 Cambridge University Press

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