An Exploration of Canadian Social Values Relative to Health Care    

Donna M. Wilson, PhD, RN;  Janet Ross Kerr, PhD, RN 

Objective: To determine Canadian social values in relation to health care among a sample of Canadian Bioethics Society members and their designates. Methods: A series of four Delphi-style mail surveys in 1994-95. Results: Four consensual values: availability of basic health care to all without serious personal economic peril, more collective responsibility and less individualism, acceptance of a social welfare state, and genuine concern and caring for other people. Conclusion: Participants' responses emphasized the fundamental nature of these values to the design of the Canadian health care system. Reforms of the health system must take these values into account.

Am J Health Behav 1998;22(2):120-129