Table 1.
Study aims and the quantitative and qualitative methods applied to answer them
| Study aim | Quantitative method | Qualitative method | Mixed methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey of 426 postnatal mothers | 4 focus group discussions with mothers | Concurrent triangulation: quantitative and qualitative data were separately collected and analysed. The methods were integrated when interpreting the results. | |
| 8 in-depth interviews with mothers | |||
| 5 in-depth interviews with nurse counsellors | |||
| 4 observations of PMTCT counsellings | |||
| 1) Assessment of the utilization of the PMTCT services, in particular HIV counselling and testing, in five reproductive and child health clinics in Moshi after the implementation of routine counselling and testing | Descriptive statistics: | Exploring the mothers': | Quantification of the utilization of the PMTCT service in terms of numbers of mothers counselled and tested |
| quantitative + qualitative aim | Frequencies of: | Attitudes to the PMTCT programme | And |
| Antenatal attendance | Experiences of the programme | Insight into experiences and attitudes to the programme among the mothers and the nurse counsellors (the social and subjective context) | |
| Received counselling | Barriers to the utilization of the programme | ||
| Offered test | Exploring the nurse counsellors': | ||
| Tested | experiences of the mothers acceptance and utilization of the programme | ||
| Received results | perceived barriers to the programme | ||
| Urban/rural comparison: Pearson χ2 | |||
| 2) Exploring the level of knowledge the mothers had about PMTCT | Descriptive statistics: | Exploring the mothers': | Quantification of the mother's knowledge on the different questions, compare groups and assess associations |
| quantitative + qualitative aim | Frequencies of: | Knowledge about PMTCT | And |
| Percentage of correct answers to the different questions about PMTCT | misconceptions regarding PMTCT | Validate these findings through a qualitative approach | |
| Urban/rural comparison: Pearson χ2 | Reveal and explore misconceptions | ||
| Logistic regression: assessment of factors associated with having little knowledge about PMTCT | |||
| 3) Assessment of the quality of the counselling given | Descriptive statistics: | Exploring the mothers': | Quantify numbers of mothers counselled |
| predominant qualitative aim | Frequencies of: | Experience of and opinions about the counselling received | Indirectly measured by the level of knowledge |
| Mothers who had received information on HIV and infant feeding counselling | Understanding of the subjects covered | And | |
| Indirectly measured by the level of PMTCT knowledge | Exploring the nurse counsellors': | Insight into which subjects the mothers were actually counselled in and which were lacking | |
| Knowledge about PMTCT | Insight into the knowledge and confidence of the nurse counsellors and their perceived barriers to the counselling | ||
| Perceptions about the counselling given | Insight into the counselling session and the communication during the counselling | ||
| Perception about barriers to the counselling | |||
| Exploration of the counselling sessions: | |||
| Subjects covered | |||
| Level of communication between counsellor and mother |