Table 1.

Stakeholder groups interviewed in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews

Stakeholder groups	Number of IDI	Number of FGD	Number of participants
1. Patients on ARTa	15	12	79
In groupsb	4	12	68
Returned to individual care	4		4
Remained in individual care	7		7
2. MoH nurses	1	2	10
3. MSF lay counsellorsc		2	7
4. Health authorities (district, provincial and national)	5		6
5. MSF CAG implementer	3		3
Total	24	16	105

ART – anti-retroviral therapy; MoH – Ministry of Health; MSF – Médecins Sans Frontières; CAG – Community ART Groups.

^aPatients on ART have been divided in three main groups: (1) patients in groups – CAG members and group leaders, (2) patients who returned to individual care after being in a group and (3) patients who preferred to remain in individual care.

^bFifty-one percent of the interviewed patients on ART in groups were male and 49% female.

^cCounsellors are appointed to large health facilities, taking a major role in the daily management of the CAG activities. Whereas in smaller health facilities, nurses are responsible for these activities. During the interviews the nurses have been divided in two groups: (1) nurses working with counsellors and (2) nurses working without counsellors. Two of the seven lay counsellors interviewed were female.