When asked if family members should help with the care of sick relatives, a resounding 60 percent of Danes answered in the affirmative, according to a YouGov poll reported in Jyllands-Posten.
Can improve level of healthcare
Beth Lilja, the head of the patient organisation Dansk Selskab for Patientsikkerhed, was pleased with the outcome and emphasised that family involvement can even improve the treatment received.
“It’s incredibly positive and important for patients that relatives, for example, go to the doctor with them,” she said.
“Relatives know the patient better than the healthcare service does. Therefore it can help the sick person to communicate with the healthcare personnel, which is important. There are different types of treatments for the individual conditions, which can give the same result, but one type of treatment will suit the individual patient’s lifestyle better than others.”
Some 1,010 Danes between the ages of 18 and 74 were questioned for the survey.
