Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38504267›Full record

ArticleBMC medical ethics2024

What are the views of Quebec and Ontario citizens on the tiebreaker criteria for prioritizing access to adult critical care in the extreme context of a COVID-19 pandemic?

Claudia Calderon Ramirez, Yanick Farmer, Andrea Frolic, Gina Bravo, Nathalie Orr Gaucher, Antoine Payot, Lucie Opatrny, Diane Poirier, Joseph Dahine, Audrey L'Espérance and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical ethics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Claudia Calderon RamirezBiomedical Sciences Program, Clinical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry 2900 Bd Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Yanick FarmerDepartment of Social and Public Communication, Faculty of Communication, succursale Centre-Ville, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, C.P 8888, H3C 3P8, Canada.
Andrea FrolicProgram for Ethics and Care Ecologies (PEaCE), Hamilton Health Sciences - King West, P.O. Box 2000, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3Z5, Canada.
Gina BravoDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Bd de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada.
Nathalie Orr GaucherResearch Centre of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital, 3175 Chem. de la Côte-Sainte- Catherine, Québec, Montreal, H3T 1C5, Canada.
Antoine PayotOffice of Clinical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, 2900 Bd Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Lucie OpatrnyExecutive Office Administration, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Site Glen 1001 boul. Décarie, Montréal, Québec, H4A 3J1, Canada.
Diane PoirierCIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, 1560, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H2L 4M1, Canada.
Joseph DahineDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry 2900 boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Audrey L'EspéranceÉcole nationale d'administration publique (ENAP), 4750 Av. Henri-Julien, Montréal, Québec, H2T 2C8, Canada.
James DownarDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 43 Rue Bruyere St. 268J, Ottawa, ON, K1N 5C8, Canada.
Peter TanuseputroOttawa Hospital Research Institute, 501 Smyth Rd, Box 511, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada.
Louis-Martin RousseauFaculty of Engineering, Montreal Polytechnic, Chem. de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec, 2500, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Vincent DumezCentre d'Excellence sur le Partenariat avec les Patients et le Public (CEPPP) CRCHUM -, Pavillon S 850, rue St-Denis, porte S03.900, Montréal, Québec, H2X 0A9, Canada.
Annie DescôteauxBureau du Patient Partenaire, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger- Gaudry 2900 boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, bureau R-815, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Clara DallaireBureau du Patient Partenaire, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger- Gaudry 2900 boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, bureau R-815, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Karell LaporteMedical residency program, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger- Gaudry 2900 boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Marie-Eve BouthillierOffice of Clinical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, 2900 Bd Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada. marie-eve.bouthillier@umontreal.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe prioritization protocols for accessing adult critical care in the extreme pandemic context contain tiebreaker criteria to facilitate decision-making in the allocation of resources between patients with a similar survival prognosis. Besides being controversial, little is known about the public acceptability of these tiebreakers. In order to better understand the public opinion, Quebec and Ontario's protocols were presented to the public in a democratic deliberation during the summer of 2022.

objectives(1) To explore the perspectives of Quebec and Ontario citizens regarding tiebreakers, identifying the most acceptable ones and their underlying values. (2) To analyze these results considering other public consultations held during the pandemic on these criteria.

methodsThis was an exploratory qualitative study. The design involved an online democratic deliberation that took place over two days, simultaneously in Quebec and Ontario. Public participants were selected from a community sample which excluded healthcare workers. Participants were first presented the essential components of prioritization protocols and their related issues (training session day 1). They subsequently deliberated on the acceptability of these criteria (deliberation session day 2). The deliberation was then subject to thematic analysis.

resultsA total of 47 participants from the provinces of Quebec (n = 20) and Ontario (n = 27) took part in the online deliberation. A diverse audience participated excluding members of the healthcare workforce. Four themes were identified: (1) Priority to young patients - the life cycle - a preferred tiebreaker; (2) Randomization - a tiebreaker of last resort; (3) Multiplier effect of most exposed healthcare workers - a median acceptability tiebreaker, and (4) Social value - a less acceptable tiebreaker.

conclusionLife cycle was the preferred tiebreaker as this criterion respects intergenerational equity, which was considered relevant when allocating scarce resources to adult patients in a context of extreme pandemic. Priority to young patients is in line with other consultations conducted around the world. Additional studies are needed to further investigate the public acceptability of tiebreaker criteria.

Indexed as

COVID-19AdultCritical CareHumansOntarioPandemicsQuebecClinical ethicsCOVID-19 prioritizationCritical careDemocratic deliberationTiebreakers

Identifiers

PMID38504267
PMCPMC10949716

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.