Allocating Resources in Humanitarian Medicine

Fair resource allocation in humanitarian medicine is gainingin importance and complexity, but remains insufficiently explored.It raises specific issues regarding non-ideal fairness, globalsolidarity, legitimacy in non-governmental institutions andconflicts of interest. All would benefit from further exploration.We propose that some headway could be made by adapting existingframeworks of procedural fairness for use in humanitarian organizations.Despite the difficulties in applying it to humanitarian medicine,it is possible to partly adapt Daniels and Sabin's ‘Accountabilityfor reasonableness’ to this context. This would require:(1) inclusion of internally explicit decisions and rationales;(2) publicity to donors, local staff, community leaders andgovernments, as well as frank answers to any beneficiary—orpotential beneficiary—who asked for clarification of decisionsand their rationale; (3) a consistent reasoning strategy toweigh conflicting views of equity in specific situations; (4)advocacy within the organization as a mechanism for revisionand appeals; and (5) internal regulation according to publiclyaccessible mechanisms. Organizations could generate a commoncorpus of allocation decisions from which to draw in futuresimilar cases. Importantly, the complexity of these challengesshould encourage, rather than hinder, broader discussion onethical aspects of resource allocation in humanitarian medicine.     

各省(自治区)卫生资源配置标准的公平性研究

利用泰尔指数来分析各省(自治区)卫生资源配置标准对资源配置公平性的影响。结果显示,如果根据配置标准来配置卫生资源,各省(自治区)内卫生资源配置的公平性将有所改善,但省际之间的床位和医师配置公平性将有所下降,而护士配置公平性则将得到改善。     

Ethics and resource allocation: an economist's view

This paper debates some of the issues involved in attempting to apply economic analysis to the health care sector when medical ethics plays such an important part in determining the allocation of resources in that sector. Two distinct ethical positions are highlighted as being fundamental to the understanding of resource allocation in this sector -- deontological and utilitarian theories of ethics. It is argued that medical ethics are often narrowly conceived in that there is a tendency for the individual, rather than society at large, to form the focal point of the production of the service "health care'. Thus medical ethics have been dominated by individualistic ethical coded which do not fully consider questions relating to resource allocation at a social level. It is further argued that the structure of the health care sector augments these "individualistic' ethics. It is also suggested that different actors in the health care sector address questions of resource allocation with respect to different time periods, and that this serves to further enhance the influence of "individualistic' ethical codes in this sector.     

上海市社区公共卫生服务资源配置公平性分析

目的:采用基尼(Gini)系数和泰尔(Theil)指数对上海市社区卫生服务资源配置公平性进行评价,为社区卫生服务资源的合理配置提供科学依据。方法:对全市19个区(县)所有社区卫生服务中心(站)进行疾病社区综合防治工作情况问卷调查。计算社区卫生服务团队、卫生技术人员和政府拨付经费按人口和面积配置的Gini系数和Theil指数,并对Theil指数进行分解。结果:上海市社区卫生服务团队、社区公共卫生技术人员和政府投入社区公共卫生经费在人口配置上的Gini系数分别为0.2734、0.3165和0.2261,处于公平的最佳状态,在地域分布上均超过0.4,处于警戒状态。Gini系数和Theil指数变动趋势一致。结论:上海市社区公共卫生服务资源配置公平性总体值得肯定,但地理公平性需引起重视。     

Ethical issues faced by clinician/managers in resource-allocation decisions

This article explores the ethical issues faced by clinicians with management responsibilities (clinician/managers) when making decisions related to resource allocation and utilization at a Canadian teaching hospital. Using a focus group method, 28 individuals participated in four homogeneous groups that included nurse managers, managers from other professional groups, and physician managers. Ethical issues that recurred throughout the discussions included fairness, concern with preventing harm, consumer/patient choice, balancing needs of different groups of patients, conflict between financial incentives and patient needs, and professional autonomy. The particular issue of conflict is analyzed from two perspectives--a theory of professional-bureaucratic roles and of obligation--that illustrate how both management and philosophical issues are related. The findings suggest that decentralizing resource allocation and utilization decisions does raise ethical issues for clinician/managers and that a better understanding of these issues can be obtained using an interdisciplinary perspective.     

上海市2015年—2019年卫生人力资源配置公平性研究

目的 分析2015年—2019年上海市卫生人力资源配置现状及公平性,探讨卫生人才队伍建设过程中存在的问题,为下一阶段合理配置卫生人力资源提供参考依据。方法 对上海市卫生人力资源配置的基本情况进行描述性分析,综合运用基尼系数、泰尔指数、集中指数,从人口、面积2个维度研究卫生人力资源配置的公平性。结果 上海市卫生人力资源总量不断改善,但卫生人力资源配置公平性按人口配置优于按面积配置,卫生人力资源配置区域内与区域间均存在不均衡现象。结论 上海市卫生人力资源配置公平性还需进一步优化,以此改善人口密度与地理面积不均衡带来的卫生人力资源配置不公平问题。     

Law,ethics and pandemic preparedness: the importance of cross‐jurisdictional and cross‐cultural perspectives

Objective: To explore social equity, health planning, regulatory and ethical dilemmas in responding to a pandemic influenza (H5N1) outbreak, and the adequacy of protocols and standards such as the International Health Regulations (2005). Approach: This paper analyses the role of legal and ethical considerations for pandemic preparedness, including an exploration of the relevance of cross‐jurisdictional and cross‐cultural perspectives in assessing the validity of goals for harmonisation of laws and policies both within and between nations. Australian and international experience is reviewed in various areas, including distribution of vaccines during a pandemic, the distribution of authority between national and local levels of government, and global and regional equity issues for poorer countries. Conclusion: This paper finds that questions such as those of distributional justice (resource allocation) and regulatory frameworks raise important issues about the cultural and ethical acceptability of planning measures. Serious doubt is cast on a ‘one size fits all’ approach to international planning for managing a pandemic. It is concluded that a more nuanced approach than that contained in international guidelines may be required if an effective response is to be constructed internationally. Implications: The paper commends the wisdom of reliance on ‘soft law’, international guidance that leaves plenty of room for each nation to construct its response in conformity with its own cultural and value requirements.     

湖北省城市社区卫生人力资源配置公平性分析

目的:从人口和地理角度评价湖北省城市社区卫生人力资源配置公平性。方法:通过使用调查表对湖北省各城市社区卫生服务中心及站的人力资源现状进行普查,利用Lorenz曲线及Gini系数对人力资源配置公平性进行评价。结果:湖北省社区卫生人力资源配置存在区域性差异,护士比例偏低,全科医师及防保人员偏少,人口公平性优于地理公平性。结论:湖北省社区卫生服务人力资源配置公平性总体值得肯定,但人力资源结构尚有待优化调整,地理公平性需引起重视。     

2005-2009年我国孕产保健服务资源配置的公平性分析

目的:探讨2005-2009年我国孕产保健服务资源配置的公平性。方法:依据中国卫生统计年鉴中孕产保健服务资源的相关数据,利用基尼系数和泰尔指数分析和评价孕产保健服务资源配置公平性及变动趋势。结果:2005-2009年全国孕产保健服务资源配置处于最佳公平性状态,现有不公平主要来自各地区内部,妇幼保健护士资源配置公平性相对最低。结论:基于现有常规报告资料,我国孕产保健服务资源的区域配置较公平,优化资源配置应关注各地区内部的不公平,并重点考虑护士资源的配置。     

Staking a claim for claims: a case study of resource allocation in Australian Aboriginal health care

There have been numerous ways in which the notion of equity has been put forward in the literature. This reflects the fact that equity is essentially driven by values and is therefore subject to individual interpretation and preferences. Deciding between these various value judgements is however outside the scope of economic analysis, as conventionally defined. This poses a problem for the examination of issues of resource allocation in Aboriginal health services in Australia, where equity, very clearly, has a role to play. One possibility for moving forward on this issue is the adoption of a 'claims' approach where the emphasis is on the explicit recognition of the values to be employed in the 'equitable' allocation of resources. This involves teasing out the principles by which, under various approaches, resources are allocated differentially across groups (e.g. under resource allocation formulae, the criterion of 'need' as measured by SMRs can be viewed to be a basis for a 'claim' over resources). The commonly cited 'basic needs approach' is then used in the paper as a case in point to illustrate how such underlying principles may be identified and then assessed. In relation to the issue of equity in Aboriginal health services, there are a number of possible standards for equity which seem to have a significant degree of community acceptance. The paper discusses ways in which they can be applied to the problem of deciding how to allocate resources in Aboriginal health.     

Equity considerations in health care: the relevance of claims

The general issues of equity and efficiency are central to the analysis of resource allocation problems in health care. We examine them using axiomatic bargaining theory. We study different solutions that have been proposed and relate them to previous literature on health care allocation. In particular, we focus on the solutions based on axiomatic bargaining with claims, and show that they are appealing as distributive criteria in health policy. Finally, we present the results of a survey that tries to elicit moral intuitions of people about resource allocation problems and their different solutions.     

Ethical Issues in the Economic Assessment of Health Care Technologies

This paper challenges traditional views which oppose health economics and medical ethics by arguing that economic assessment is a necessary complement to medical ethics and can help to improve public participation and democratic processes in choices about resource allocation for health care technologies. In support of this argument, four points are emphasized: (1) Most current biomedical ethical debates implicitly deal with economic issues of resource allocation. (2) Clinical decisions, which usually respect the Hippocratic code of ethics, are nevertheless influenced by economic incentives and constraints. (3) Economic assessment is concerned with both efficiency and equity and potential trade-offs between the two, which means that ethical judgements are always embedded in welfare economics. (4) The real debate is not between economics on the one side and medical ethics on the other. Rather it is between different ethical conceptions of social justice and the contrasting approaches they entail to reconciling individual interests and preferences with collective goods and welfare. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Medicare and cost-effectiveness analysis: time to ask the taxpayers

Maintaining Medicare's affordability for taxpayers and beneficiaries is becoming harder. Although cost containment strategies have been proposed, using cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to prioritize coverage decisions has not been among them. There is a widespread but largely untested perception that Americans are unwilling to accept limits in health care. We review existing evidence about the public's willingness to accept constraints and set health care priorities. We suggest that given the opportunity to weigh in on ethical and normative issues that surround CEA, members of the public are appropriate parties to engage in shaping Medicare's broadest resource allocation questions.     

A framework for applying ethical theory to public health practice.

Like most other public health agencies, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health (DPH) has encountered a growing number of questions and conflicts with ethical implications. To address these and other questions, DPH started to develop a framework, in January 1985, specifically related to solving problems, setting priorities, and developing policy that adds an ethical perspective. DPH must deal with issues and conflicts that transcend the traditional model of medical care: with the new economic reality, programs must continue with less resources; medical technology is now raising questions, but not necesarily answers, related to life and death; and the rights and responsibilities of individuals and institutions are not clearly defined. In this context, DPH has started to examine ethical considerations with respect to the individual and the community. An interface exists between ethical theory and health care. Over the years, however, this relationship has assumed different manifestations, ranging from the formation of precise conduct codes for health care professionals to the establishment of review boards that examine specific morally questionable procedures. DPH's purpose in applying ethical theory to its health care practices is not to develop an inflexible code nor a committee to review isolated cases of moral conflict. The purpose is to use ethical theory as a form of vision for the remainder of the 1980s and beyond.     

广西省城市社区卫生人力资源配置公平性分析

目的 分析广西省城市社区卫生人力资源配置现状,并评价其分布的人口公平性和地理公平性.方法 采用Lorenz曲线和Gini系数对人力资源配置公平性进行评价.结果 社区医生、护士和专职防保人员按人口分布的Gini系数分别为0.298 1,0.290 5和0.396 3;按地理分布的Gini系数分别为0.616 8,0.612 6和0.690 9.结论 广西省城市社区卫生人力资源配置的人口公平性优于地理公平性;专职防保人员配置比社区医生和护士配置的公平性低.     

Bioethics and health care technology assessment

The simultaneous existence of a biotechnoscientific paradigm (which emphasizes technological incorporation) and a culture of limits (which selects technologies) challenges current health systems, raising ethical and political discussions as to the choices to be made. Health care technology assessment is mainly concerned with the consequences of health care and health care policies. Thus, there is significant overlap between this activity and bioethics, even though they are different fields of knowledge. Although the importance of ethical and social issues arising in technology assessment has been recognized, most publications emphasize only methodological and scientific aspects. There are different interests involved in technological incorporation, and many value conflicts arise. Ethical implications include those related to clinical trials, medical care assessment, incorporation of technology, resource allocation, equity, and the effectiveness gap. Incorporating the ethical dimension into technology assessment will foster a better understanding of health care practice and progress in its improvement.     

上海市社区卫生服务中心卫生技术人员配置公平性研究

目的分析2017年上海市社区卫生服务中心(community healthcare center,CHC)卫生技术人员配置的公平性。方法描述上海市CHC卫生技术人员配置的整体概况,用Lorenz曲线、Gini系数、Theil指数从服务人口的维度分析CHC各类人员配置的公平性。结果除助理医师(0.527)与中医专科医师(0.455)外,其余各类人员配置的Gini系数均在0.1~0.3之间,配置的公平性总体较好,与Lorenz曲线分析结果一致。各类人员配置的Theil指数与Lorenz曲线、Gini系数有相同趋势,地区内贡献率(60.5%~99.3%)高于地区间贡献率(0.7%~39.5%)。结论全市CHC卫生技术人员配置的结构基本合理。CHC卫生技术人员按服务常住人口配置的公平性较好。各类卫生技术人员配置的地区内差异是引起相对不公平的主要原因。区域人口密度差异与资源跨区利用问题有待进一步研究。     

Building capacity for risk factor surveillance in developing countries: a new approach

The need to create surveillance systems that go beyond data release and generate useful, relevant and accessible information has been widely recognized. To reach this goal the design and implementation of surveillance systems should consider not only technical issues but aspects that guarantee their sustainability and utility and more important, the utilization of surveillance data for resource allocation and planning of health programs and interventions. Until now key issues have been neglected, such as political will, community involvement, decision-making processes and accountability in surveillance outcomes. For many years we have faced the same problems, all within an epidemiological mosaic where infectious and communicable diseases coexist, with limited capacity to conduct surveillance, low priority given by decision-makers, lack of resources, scarce utilization of information, competing priority between chronic, infectious diseases and risk factors surveillance. Technical, management and political approaches involving new partnerships, new ways to involve different stakeholders in the process, new methods and tools, ways to overcome resource restrictions and improve surveillance effectiveness, have to be achieved. An alternative approach has been suggested to meet the above problems and to make surveillance socially responsible; relevant and effective, not only for reporting, but for its contribution to produce the needed health changes and sustain these outcomes. The vision, strategies, methods, tools and results of a community-based surveillance system are presented. Three aspects are addressed, the context in which the surveillance is applied; the theory supporting behavioural risk factor surveillance; the perspectives, goals, solutions and lessons learned from previous experience.     

广东省专业公共卫生机构卫生资源配置公平性分析

目的 分析广东省专业公共卫生机构卫生资源配置现状及其公平性,为后续研究和公共卫生服务资源的优化配置提供数据支撑。方法 对广东省专业公共卫生机构卫生资源配置情况进行描述性分析;通过卫生资源集聚度（HRAD）分析其配置的可及性和公平性。 结果 广东省专业公共卫生机构数呈负增长,为- 10.13%,而公共卫生人力资源总量逐年递增,年均增速在3.0%以上。2019年各地市公共卫生资源配置的公平性差异显著。2013—2019年东翼地区公共卫生人力资源基于人口分布的公平性较差,而西翼和山区公共卫生资源基于地理分布的可及性较差。结论 广东省专业公共卫生机构卫生人力资源配置总量逐年增长,但增速尚需提高。区域间、区域内卫生资源配置的可及性、公平性差异显著,公共卫生资源分布不均衡的状况仍然存在,人才短缺的情况仍是短板。应持续推动优质公共卫生资源扩容和区域均衡布局,稳定和发展公共卫生人才队伍,提高现有公共卫生资源的配置效率和利用效率。     

The promise of public health: ethical reflections

Public health is in the spotlight of public and political concern, providing a unique window of opportunity for its revitalization and restoration as a pillar of the Canadian health care system. The establishment of a Federal Public Health Agency is a critical first step. The public health community has identified key challenges toward this renewal. However, public health ethics have received little attention and, when addressed, have focussed almost exclusively on communicable diseases. The ethical issues inherent in public health transcend infectious diseases and are distinct from clinical and research ethics. Identifying and addressing ethical issues at the heart of public health, including the public interest and the common good, as well as fundamental issues related to the core functions of public health will be essential if this revitalization of public health is to be achieved. While legal and regulatory reforms are necessary, they will not be sufficient to adequately address fundamental questions of the valuing of public health or the ethical issues in public health. Elements of a research agenda on the ethical foundations of public health reform are identified here.