Scarce Resources in Times of a Pandemic

The survey employed a range of tasks and stimuli, including: assessment of schematic face drawings for perceived infection risk and respiratory protection use; ranking of non-pharmacological epidemic measures by perceived effectiveness; ethical evaluation of price increases on scarce protective goods; selection of population groups with priority entitlement to publicly funded respirators; ten forced-choice triage scenarios involving patient prioritization; and ethical assessment of two policies for allocating ventilators.

Additional demographic and background data were collected, including political orientation, religiosity, pandemic experience, compliance with measures, and volunteer activity. Upon completion, participants gained access to an online application allowing them to compare selected responses with those of other participants. Participation was voluntary, online, and anonymous.