Table 2.

Theme—health educational benefits accruing from CASG participation

Sub-themes	Example quotations
Treatment adherence	One focus group participant offered:
	“It helped me … in moving forward … in managing my health. You’re doing a lot of things by the fact you’re managing yourself. The biggest thing is taking the medication that the doctors give you. ….not taking the medication is what makes your days short ……”
	Another focus group participant highlighted changes in a group member:
	“Before he entered CASG, he wasn’t adherent. He didn’t want to always take his medication, so there were always illnesses. To cut his grass, he was left really weak. But now when he entered the group … he is taking his medication …..And just like that, he’s there cutting his grass and does everything.”
A healthy lifestyle	One focus group participant explained that
	being healthy goes beyond taking medication:
	“In my group, they teach us to take the medication on time … and that even if she [a group member] has a boyfriend, she has to always use the condom … she has to know how to reduce the number of these boyfriends ….. the medicine can’t make any effect if she takes it, and then does nothing [about risky behaviors].”
	Another described how the CASG tried to counsel one of its group members about the negative impact of her smoking and alcohol consumption before she died:
	“She was drinking a lot and smoking cigarettes. My group …. we tried to advise her … we talked with her at least three times, of wanting to put her in line, but we lost her, she’s just not with us.”