Care and Mistreatment – Two Sides of the Same Coin? An Exploratory Study of Three Portuguese Care Homes

The quality of care practices is still a central issue for long-term care policy. Following seven signs used to evaluate care practices, this article presents the initial results of ongoing research carried out in three Portuguese care homes in 2017. The article uses mixed methods (24 interviews and a data survey), based on the perspectives of care workers, professional staff and managers. The findings highlight the non-recognition of care work, difficult working conditions, poor training and a limited monitoring of the care system as factors that reduce the quality of care and increase the risk of an institutionalised culture of care omission.