‘For a mere cough, men must just chew Conjex, gain strength, and continue working’: the provider construction and tuberculosis care-seeking implications in Blantyre, Malawi

Figures & data

Fig. 1 The data collection process and data sources.

Table 1 Participants and techniques and their justification, and respective sample characteristics

Participants (technique, sample characteristics)	Primary exploratory outcomes	Justification of choice of method and participants
Uninvestigated chronic coughers (IDIs; n=20; F=8; M=12; age range 18–77; average age=36; balanced by marital status)	Experiences of symptoms; steps taken and reasons; reasons for not being investigated	The stigma of TB/cough/HIV, and personal data require private interview setting; IDIs target information about individual experience.
Newly diagnosed TB patients (IDIs; n=20; F=14; M=6; age range 21–70, average age=33; slight majority married)	Experiences of symptoms; steps taken and reasons; care-seeking experiences	The stigma of TB/cough/HIV, and personal data require private interview setting; IDIs target information about individual experience.
Community members (FGDs; n=8; Male only=3; Female only=3; Mixed sex=2; Total no. of participants=74)	General beliefs about gender, health, and care-seeking behaviour; perceptions of cough and TB symptoms, and health services	FGDs help generate information on beliefs and norms; They aid exploration as participants debate and contradict each other (42, 43)
Health workers (FGDs; n=2; both mixed sex; no. of participants=20)	Views on 1) men's care-seeking, 2) interface of health services with community	As for community FGD above; Also, participants were expert informants based on their special knowledge.
Health stakeholders (participatory workshop; 27 participants; F=14; M=13)	Develop candidate interventions; discuss acceptability of proposed interventions	Participants were experts in different domains related to health [see (39)]

FGDs=focus group discussions; IDI=in-depth interview; F=female; M=male.

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