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Ethics and Waiting Times: Incorporating theories of justice in an analysis of waiting times in Sweden

Mattisson, Linn LU (2017) NEKN01 20171
Department of Economics
Abstract
Objectives: There is growing concern regarding waiting times in health care as a
mechanism to improve fairness in health services. This essay addresses the issue by
evaluating fairness defined by justice theories. Based on this discussion, the essay
then investigates whether actual waiting times are consistent with ethical principles.
Theory: The theories of justice discussed are utilitarianism, egalitarianism and
maximin. The discussion reveals that analysis of waiting times may better capture
fairness objectives by incorporating these ethical principles.
Quantitative Analysis and Results: Swedish waiting times 2011-2017 were
analysed, where the public priority-setting guidelines were evaluated in terms of
ethical principles. A... (More)
Objectives: There is growing concern regarding waiting times in health care as a
mechanism to improve fairness in health services. This essay addresses the issue by
evaluating fairness defined by justice theories. Based on this discussion, the essay
then investigates whether actual waiting times are consistent with ethical principles.
Theory: The theories of justice discussed are utilitarianism, egalitarianism and
maximin. The discussion reveals that analysis of waiting times may better capture
fairness objectives by incorporating these ethical principles.
Quantitative Analysis and Results: Swedish waiting times 2011-2017 were
analysed, where the public priority-setting guidelines were evaluated in terms of
ethical principles. A fixed effects model and descriptive statistics found that actual
waiting times only partially correspond to the guidelines.
Conclusions: The 'fairness' of waiting times depends on how it is defined by justice
theories and official guidelines. Future research may build on the incorporation of
justice theories into waiting time analysis or strengthen the econometric analysis. (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Väntetiders förmåga att ge upphov till rättvisare fördelning av vårdjänster är vida diskuterat. Denna uppsats analyserar väntetider genom tre rättviseteorier: Utilitarianism, egalitarianism och maximin. Uppsatsen visar att analys av väntetider förbättras genom en mer uttryclig rättvisedimension. Principerna kopplas sedan till faktiska väntetider i Sverige 2011-2017. Trots en del brister i den kvantitativa analysen, är uppsatsens uppfattning att väntetider inte helt reflekterar officiella rättvisemål gällande väntetider. Ytterligare undersökningar kan bygga på den teoretiska diskussionen eller förbättra den ekonometriska analysen på en fallstudie.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mattisson, Linn LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKN01 20171
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Waiting times, health care, theories of justice, ethics, fixed effects model
language
English
id
8909934
date added to LUP
2017-07-10 13:53:19
date last changed
2017-07-10 13:53:19
@misc{8909934,
  abstract     = {{Objectives: There is growing concern regarding waiting times in health care as a
mechanism to improve fairness in health services. This essay addresses the issue by
evaluating fairness defined by justice theories. Based on this discussion, the essay
then investigates whether actual waiting times are consistent with ethical principles.
Theory: The theories of justice discussed are utilitarianism, egalitarianism and
maximin. The discussion reveals that analysis of waiting times may better capture
fairness objectives by incorporating these ethical principles.
Quantitative Analysis and Results: Swedish waiting times 2011-2017 were
analysed, where the public priority-setting guidelines were evaluated in terms of
ethical principles. A fixed effects model and descriptive statistics found that actual
waiting times only partially correspond to the guidelines.
Conclusions: The 'fairness' of waiting times depends on how it is defined by justice
theories and official guidelines. Future research may build on the incorporation of
justice theories into waiting time analysis or strengthen the econometric analysis.}},
  author       = {{Mattisson, Linn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ethics and Waiting Times: Incorporating theories of justice in an analysis of waiting times in Sweden}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}