Interviews with key respondents

After the first workshop, we carried out unstructured interviews with nine key stakeholders, including policymakers, funders, implementers and programme managers involved in the policy formulation. The main objective was to validate the issues raised during the first workshop and to identify potential solutions. Although no formal interview guide was used, the facilitation probes from the first workshoponline supplemental file 1 guided this informal inquiry (online supplemental file 1). Essentially, we aimed to explore their ideas and assumptions regarding different aspects of the policy. For example, on the need to improve collaboration between TB doctors and family doctors to encourage an integrated care approach, the distribution of roles in the proposed integrated care team, the policy verification system and the data availability for tracking process and outcome indicators.

Questions on TB and integration into primary healthcare (PHC) inquired on side effects and management of comorbidities—which have been raised as important issues affecting overall TB treatment care success rates. Respondents shed light on challenges to service integration, opportunities for improvement and the role of various actors at the different levels of care. Questions on intervention verification aimed to gain insight on existing health information systems collecting TB programmatic data, their weaknesses and opportunities for addressing these, including how to deter fraudulent practices within the system.

Due to the position of the respondents, interviews were not recorded nor systematically transcribed. Rather, notes were taken to inform the revision of the intervention description. Based on the information collected through these discussions, the intervention design was updated, documented, and later on presented to the second workshop participants for further discussion with a wider group of stakeholders.