2.3. Data collection
Data were collected through eight focus groups interviews (two in each LCT facility), ranging in size from 5 to
12 participants. The interviews were conducted by a trained gerontologist in a quiet room of each facility, so that
DCWs felt that they could speak freely without being interrupted. A semi-structured interview guide was developed
to explore DCWs’ perspectives. The following questions were considered: How do you feel about taking care of
residents with dementia? What are your main difficulties/concerns? The role of the moderator was to encourage
participants’ reflection, using probes to clarify or elaborate their responses (e.g., ‘can you explain further?’) while
keeping a friendly and non-judgemental attitude. Interviews were video-recorded and had an average duration of
43.21±10.08 minutes.
2.4. Data analysis
Focus-group interviews were transcribed verbatim and submitted to thematic analysis by two independent judges
(1st and 4th authors), as follows: (1) the text was read several times to construct a sense of the text as a whole; (2)
preliminary codes were created, closely reflecting the interview questions; (3) codes were organized into categories
and then integrated into major themes; (4) the categorization was compared and discussed between the two judges
until reach a consensus; (5) a critical feedback was performed by the other authors. Data was processed using
computerized qualitative data analysis software - webQDA (University of Aveiro, Portugal).