Shifting gender norms to improve HIV service uptake: Qualitative findings from a large-scale community mobilization intervention in rural South Africa

The data set includes 55 transcripts from qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) conducted early to mid 2018 in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, in the final months of the three-year intervention called Tsima. Tsima was a community mobilization intervention designed to improve HIV testing, care and treatment outcomes among adults aged 18-49 years, specifically sought to address social barriers to engaging in HIV services, such as limited knowledge about treatment as prevention, poor treatment literacy, HIV stigma and fear of disclosure, and inequitable gender norms. The IDIs in this dataset focused specifically on the process of gender norms change and associated changes in HIV service uptake. IDIs for the present study were conducted with 25 community members (48% women; 60% HIV-positive) and 30 key informants (70% women), for a total of 55 interviews. Key informants included community mobilizers (n=16), Community Action Team (CAT) members (n=7), and community opinion leaders (n=7).