Patient Characteristics That Impact Healthcare Resource Allocation Choices: Relative Impact of Mental Illness, Age, and Parental Status¹

This study assessed how changes in descriptions of hypothetical patients suffering from kidney disease impact choices about whether they should be allocated access to a life‐supporting artificial kidney machine. In 2 experiments, each using a different sample, participants were given a list of prospective (fictional) patients, all of whom were described as having kidney disease, yet varied with respect to characteristics of parental status, age, and mental health status. Participants rank‐ordered patients on the basis of priority for treatment. Participants favored patients who had children, were young, and were mentally healthy. Age was a larger determinant of participant choices than mental health status. Implications of these results for prejudice against those who are childless, elderly, and mentally ill are noted.