Which features of patients are morally relevant in ventilator triage? A survey of the UK public

BMC Medical Ethics

Table 1 Features suggested by our participants that should and should not be considered, organized by the percentage of participants who mentioned this feature, and the average age and gender distribution of these participants (features mentioned by < 1% of participants not listed)

Feature	Participants %	Age: mean	Female—%	Male—%
Features that should be considered
Age	81	44	49	50
General health	73	45	52	48
Recovery prospect	72	46	53	47
Dependents	36	45	49	50
COVID Symptoms	31	45	53	47
Patient wishes	12	47	59	41
Societal contribution	12	48	35	65
Health worker	9	44	33	67
Body weight	9	45	43	57
Gender	8	49	28	72
Quality of life	7	46	66	34
Career	6	44	31	69
Infection responsibility	6	42	41	56
Waiting time	5	39	54	46
Economic status	5	38	48	52
Fitness	5	48	44	56
Criminal history	5	45	29	71
Race	4	49	32	68
Citizenship	4	51	35	65
Pregnancy	3	43	47	53
Disability	3	48	43	57
Expert opinion	3	46	14	86
Personality	2	53	45	55
Mental health	2	51	33	67
Social status	2	46	22	78
Religion	2	41	38	62
Features that should not be considered
Race	56	46	51	49
Gender	45	45	52	48
Economic Status	41	45	50	49
Religion	24	46	49	51
Social Status	24	46	49	50
Age	19	50	58	42
Sexual orientation	15	43	49	49
Career	13	44	48	52
Citizenship	10	50	39	61
General health	8	46	55	45
Dependents	7	47	49	51
Personality	6	43	50	50
Location	6	48	48	52
Disability	6	45	47	53
Criminal history	5	44	46	54
Body weight	5	42	67	33
Appearance	3	39	44	56
Political views	3	51	33	67
Lifestyle	3	49	81	19
Mental health	2	50	58	42
Patient wishes	2	52	42	58
Health worker	2	39	30	70
Expert opinion	2	46	62	38
Waiting time	2	42	50	50

ISSN: 1472-6939