Table 1
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ): 32-item checklist
No	Item	Guide  questions/description Domain 1:
Research team and reflexivity

Personal Characteristics

1.	Interviewer/facilitator	Which author/s conducted the interview or focus group?  Limakatso Lebelo (LL) conducted the interviews.

2.	Credentials	What were the researcher's credentials?	 
LL is an RN and a research nurse.

3.	Occupation	What was their occupation at the time of the study?  Study researcher

4.	Gender	Was the researcher male or female?  Female

5.	Experience and
training

What experience or training did the researcher have? The interviewer’s experience as a research nurse in other qualitative studies over the past four years provided her with vast experience and expertise in qualitative interviewing. In addition, the interviewer participated in four qualitative interview training sessions prior to this study.

Relationship with participants

6.	Relationship
established

Was a relationship established prior to study commencement? The Interviewer knew the participants from a prior study where she was a Nurse Mentor; she had a good working relationship with participants.

7.	Participant
knowledge of the interviewer

What did the participants know about the researcher? e.g. personal goals, reasons for doing the research. Participants knew the Interviewer was going to be involved in the follow up cluster randomized trial and that she would be assigned to their health facilities. We believe that they were therefore eager to provide honest and helpful information.

8.	Interviewer
characteristics

What characteristics were reported about the interviewer/facilitator? e.g. Bias, assumptions, reasons and interests in the research topic. The interviewer’s familiarity with the healthcare providers in study facilities may have led to either more honest discussions or socially desirable responses.

Domain 2: study design

Theoretical framework

9.	Methodological
orientation and
Theory

What methodological orientation was stated to underpin the study? e.g. grounded theory, discourse analysis, ethnography, phenomenology, content analysis. 
We used thematic analysis to guide us.

No	Item	Guide  questions/description

Participant selection

10.	Sampling	How were participants selected? e.g. purposive, convenience,
consecutive, snowball
We enrolled a purposive sample of nine nurses who were the main providers of TB care and all three facility-based lead village health workers who were already employed by the study at that time.

11.	Method of approach	How were participants approached? e.g. face-to-face,
telephone, mail, email. Face-to-face and telephone

12.	Sample size	How many participants were in the study? 12 participants

13.	Non-participation	How many people refused to participate or dropped out? Reasons? No one refused study participation or dropped out.

Setting

14.	Setting of data collection

Where was the data collected? e.g. home, clinic, workplace
Data were collected in TB clinics.

15.	Presence of non- participants

Was anyone else present besides the participants and researchers? No one else was present during data collection.

16.	Description of sample	What are the important characteristics of the sample? e.g.
demographic data, date
Interviews were completed with 12 healthcare providers, including nine nurses and three lead village health workers. The majority (11/12) of participants were female and the mean age was 42 years (range 27-66).

Data collection

17.	Interview guide	Were questions, prompts, guides provided by the authors?
Was it pilot tested?
The interview guide is provided as part of the submission. It was piloted with study staff before study implementation.

18.	Repeat interviews	Were repeat interviews carried out? If yes, how many? 
No repeat interviews were conducted; this was a cross-sectional descriptive exploratory study. 

19.	Audio/visual
recording

Did the research use audio or visual recording to collect the data?
Yes, the interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated, and anonymized.

20.	Field notes	Were field notes made during and/or after the interview or focus group? Yes, the Interviewer wrote notes after each interview.

21.	Duration	What was the duration of the interviews or focus group?
Interview duration ranged from 25 to 55 minutes, with a mean of 37 minutes.

22.	Data saturation	Was data saturation discussed? Yes

23.	Transcripts returned	Were transcripts returned to participants for comment and/or
correction?
Transcripts were not returned to participants for comments.

Domain 3: 
analysis and findings

No	Item	Guide questions/description

Data analysis

24.	Number of data coders

How many data coders coded the data?
Two coders coded the data.

25.	Description of the coding tree

Did authors provide a description of the coding tree?

We provided a detailed description of the coding process and theme development.

26.	Derivation of themes	Were themes identified in advance or derived from the data? 
Themes were identified in advance. 

27.	Software	What software, if applicable, was used to manage the data?
We used Dedoose (v. 6.2.17) to manage the data.

28.	Participant checking	Did participants provide feedback on the findings? 
Yes, study findings were presented and discussed with participants at a district-wide meeting.
Reporting
29.	Quotations presented	Were participant quotations presented to illustrate the
themes / findings? Was each quotation identified? e.g. participant number 
Yes, quotations are presented with identifiers.

30.	Data and findings consistent

Was there consistency between the data presented and the findings?
Yes

31.	Clarity of major themes

Were major themes clearly presented in the findings?
Yes

32.	Clarity of minor themes

Is there a description of diverse cases or discussion of minor themes?
Yes