Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken societies around the world, the debate about fairness of medical allocation decisions is gaining momentum. Studying a sample of a broad international public (N = 1,998), we investigate citizens' ethical preferences in the moral dil...

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Main Authors: Peer Keßler, Ivar Krumpal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1570940/full
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author Peer Keßler
Ivar Krumpal
author_facet Peer Keßler
Ivar Krumpal
author_sort Peer Keßler
collection DOAJ
description Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken societies around the world, the debate about fairness of medical allocation decisions is gaining momentum. Studying a sample of a broad international public (N = 1,998), we investigate citizens' ethical preferences in the moral dilemma of triage decisions. First, we address the key problem of which of several contradictory ethical criteria and normative principles should be used to determine the fairness of outcomes in triage situations. Preferences about fair outcomes are inferred from observed allocation decisions in a conjoint experiment. Second, preferences in regard to fair procedures are measured via fairness ratings of a series of triage procedures. Third, we analyze the relationship between the observed allocation outcomes and the fairness ratings of procedures. Finally, we review the current expert discourse and reflect it with the citizens ethical preferences observed in our study.
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spelling doaj-art-bd4d2560972d4bdcb4d3c5bed05390ff2025-08-20T01:50:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752025-05-011010.3389/fsoc.2025.15709401570940Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triagePeer Keßler0Ivar Krumpal1Department Health and Prevention, Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, GermanyInstitute of Sociology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, GermanyAgainst the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken societies around the world, the debate about fairness of medical allocation decisions is gaining momentum. Studying a sample of a broad international public (N = 1,998), we investigate citizens' ethical preferences in the moral dilemma of triage decisions. First, we address the key problem of which of several contradictory ethical criteria and normative principles should be used to determine the fairness of outcomes in triage situations. Preferences about fair outcomes are inferred from observed allocation decisions in a conjoint experiment. Second, preferences in regard to fair procedures are measured via fairness ratings of a series of triage procedures. Third, we analyze the relationship between the observed allocation outcomes and the fairness ratings of procedures. Finally, we review the current expert discourse and reflect it with the citizens ethical preferences observed in our study.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1570940/fulltriageallocationpreferencesfairnessconjoint experiment
spellingShingle Peer Keßler
Ivar Krumpal
Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
Frontiers in Sociology
triage
allocation
preferences
fairness
conjoint experiment
title Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
title_full Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
title_fullStr Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
title_full_unstemmed Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
title_short Fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
title_sort fair allocation of resources in the moral dilemma of triage
topic triage
allocation
preferences
fairness
conjoint experiment
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1570940/full
work_keys_str_mv AT peerkeßler fairallocationofresourcesinthemoraldilemmaoftriage
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