Table 1 Characteristics of the participants (N = 16)

Gender

7 Male

9 Female

Age (mean, SD, min-max)

70.5 (9.3, 53–88)

Marital status

11married

5 lived together (38–60 yrs)

Living conditions

11 lived in a house

5 lived in a flat

Health situation

2 described themselves as healthy

7 described 1–3 diseases^a

9 described 1–3 symptoms^b

1unknown

Time of diseases/ symptoms

4–40 yrs

Important social networks

15 had children

14 had grand children

7 had contact with other relatives

8 had contact with friends

2 had contact with neighbors

1 had contact with colleagues