Viewpoints among experts and the public in the Netherlands on including a lifestyle criterion in the healthcare priority setting.

Context: It remains unclear whether there would be societal support for a lifestyle criterion for the healthcare priority setting. This study examines the viewpoints of experts in healthcare and the public regarding support for a lifestyle-related decision criterion, relative to support for the currently applied criteria, in the healthcare priority setting in the Netherlands.

Methods: We conducted a Q methodology study in samples of experts in healthcare (n = 37) and the public (n = 44).