1. Failure to provide the ideal care
A major difficulty faced by DCWs was related to the inability to perform the care they wished to perform: less
instrumental and more individualized. According to several participants, this was a consequence of the time pressure
and workload that emerge from the ‘increased number of dependent residents’ and the ‘shortage of staff’. The
DCWs wished to be able to foster the residents’ autonomy, communicate and promote their active participation
during care routines, and feel frustrated when they had no opportunity to achieve this. Some interviewees noted that
the morning care, contemplating basic daily activities (e.g., bathing or dressing), was the most difficult moment ‘to
be completely committed to the resident