Abstract

It's time to take the needs of caregivers seriously; doing so will benefit both those providing and receiving care. This is the thrust of the argument by Williams et al. and we couldn't agree more. Our commentary offers elaboration on the sixth and final assumption – that caregivers' needs should be considered apart from cared-for persons and formal system capacity. In helping policymakers come to grips with this, we extend on Williams et al.'s argument by offering both research practices that can improve understanding of care relations and a discussion of the assessment tools that can be adopted to address the needs of the caregiver.