CHOICE OF PATIENT WHICH THE ADOPTED APPROACHES?
Keywords:
bioethics, treatment, delivery of health care, patient selection.Abstract
Objective
This study aimed at identifying the social criteria which influence the selection of patients by graduating students in the last year of the Oentistry Program at the State University of Paraíba, Brazil, in 2005.
Methods
For this purpose, a cross-section experimental questionnaire was designed, containing identification questions anda case scenario of each patient. Based on such questionnaire and on six photographs of the supposed patients, the respondents were asked to select solely one patient who should receive urgent dental treatment, given a situation of scarce health resources. To analyze the results, the method of descriptive statistics was used and measures of central tendency and dispersion were obtained.
Results
The sample was composed with 41 students of the final year, 43.9% of which were females and 54. 1 % were males; 70.7% were between the ages of 22-24 years; 95. 1 % had completed high school in private schools; 82.9% had family income above seven minimum salaries; 65,8% declared themselves to be white and 24,4 said to be brown. ln the students' selection of one patient among the supposed six patients, the most frequent choice (68.2%) was the white ma/e around 50 years of age. Next, came the afro-descendent woman (14.5% of the choices); then, a white woman (12.2%), a 30-year-old white man (2.5%) and, finally, a 20-year-old man (chosen by 2. 5% of the students). The ma/e Afro-descendent was not selected atai!.
Conclusion
Clearly, there was a subjective interference in the selection criteria of the respondents, caused by first sight impression and different physica! appearances of the six patients. This constitutes an undesirable attitude, considering that there cannot be se!ection discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age or socia/-economic situation, and decision-makers must avoid allowing that their impressions of a patient's physica! aspects /ead to hislher social discrimination.
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