Scarce Resource Allocation During Disasters A Mixed-Method Community Engagement Study

The authors conducted a series of 15 discussions with 324 members of the public and health-related professionals to characterize the public's values regarding how scarce mechanical ventilators should be allocated during an influenza pandemic, and to inform a statewide scare resource allocation framework. They concluded that awareness of how “the values expressed by the public and front-line clinicians sometimes diverge from expert guidance in important ways,” should inform policy making.