The relevance of personal characteristics in allocating health care resources-controversial preferences of laypersons with different educational backgrounds.

ABSTRACT: In all industrial countries publicly funded health care systems are confronted with budget constraints. Therefore, priority setting in resource allocation seems inevitable. This paper examines whether personal characteristics could be taken into consideration when allocating health services in Germany, and whether attitudes towards prioritizing health care vary among individuals with different levels of education. Using a conjoint analysis approach, hypothetical patients described in terms of 'lifestyle', 'age', 'severity of illness', 'type of illness', 'improvement in health', and 'treatment costs' were constructed, and the importance weights for these personal characteristics were elicited from 120 members of the general public. Participants were selected according to a sampling guide in

SUBMITTER: Winkelhage J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3315072 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature