Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the respondents
| Â | N | Â | % or mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|
Gender | 1300 | Â | Â |
 Male |  | 583 | 44.9 |
 Female |  | 717 | 55.2 |
Age (SD) | 1300 | Â | 56 (15.8) |
Education | 1270 | Â | Â |
 Low (none, primary school or pre-vocational education) |  | 273 | 21.5 |
 Middle (secondary or vocational education) |  | 596 | 46.9 |
 High (professional higher education or university) |  | 401 | 31.6 |
Questionnaire | 1300 | Â | Â |
 Post |  | 571 | 43.9 |
 Internet |  | 729 | 56.1 |
Attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making (SD) (range 1-5, higher scores indicates a more positive attitude) | 1285 | Â | 3.22 (1.03) |
Available medical informational support (SD) (range 0-3) | 1146 | Â | 1.01 (1.03) |
 Having no medical informational support available |  |  | 39 % |
Available lay informational support (SD) (range 0-6) | 1269 | Â | 5.40 (1.43) |
 Having no lay informational support available |  |  | 4 % |
Available emotional support (SD) (range 0–4) | 1276 |  | 3.20 (1.23) |
 Having no emotional support available |  |  | 8 % |