Next of kin

Family members may in a significant manner contribute to the care of the elderly. The paper discusses, on the basis of a field study, the involvement of family members in the care of elderly living independently in their own homes. It argues that it is prudent to include family members when designing pervasive healthcare for the home of the elderly. That is, it may be fruitful to include them as a category to be designed for as well as a group to be included in the participatory design process.