Caregiver

A person who provides ongoing assistance to someone with a disability, chronic condition, or age-related need, encompassing both formal caregivers (paid professionals) and informal caregivers (family members, friends, partners). In accessibility and assistive technology, caregivers play a significant but often invisible role: they help set up and maintain technology, provide real-time technical support, act as intermediaries with inaccessible systems, and make decisions about technology adoption. Research increasingly recognises that accessible design must consider the caregiver as a user alongside the person they support — the backstage labour of caregivers in configuring devices, troubleshooting, and providing step-by-step guidance is a critical part of how many disabled and older people access technology in practice.