Identifying ethical values for guiding triage decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic: an Italian ethical committee perspective using Delphi methodology.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

This study aimed to identify the guiding ethical principles that should be considered for critical resource allocation during pandemic emergency situations, and especially for the COVID-19 outbreak. The secondary objective was to define the priority to be assigned to each principle.

Setting

The study was conducted from March to June 2020 within the context of an ethical committee (EC) in Northern Italy.

Participants

Eleven EC members and five additional external healthcare and bioethical professionals, forming a multidisciplinary panel, took part in the study.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The compilation of a list of ethical principles (maximum of 10 items) and their priority ranking and application within an emergency pandemic context was

SUBMITTER: Zeneli A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8130741 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature