Ethics and Waiting Times: Incorporating theories of justice in an analysis of waiting times in Sweden
(2017) NEKN01 20171Department 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:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8909934
- author
- Mattisson, Linn LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NEKN01 20171
- year
- 2017
- 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}}, }