Study Population and Setting
This qualitative study was conducted with participants from a three-arm randomized trial investigating the effect of cash transfers on viral suppression (Participants in the trial were enrolled from April-December 2018 and randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive six months of cash transfers of 10,000 TZS (~ 4.5 USD) or 22,500 TZS (~ 11 USD) per month via mobile money, conditional on HIV clinic attendance, or standard HIV services (n = 530). The goal of the cash transfer was to motivate engagement in HIV care, with cash amounts designed to subsidize the cost of food, clinic transportation, or lost wages for time spent at the clinic (e.g., 10,000 TZS ≈ roundtrip transportation for 3 clinic visits, 22,500 ≈ roundtrip transportation for 6 clinic visits). The intervention period was completed between October 2018-June 2019 (six months after enrollment), with a maximum of 27–60 USD (total) disbursed to each cash transfer participant depending on their randomization assignment. At six-months, the trial found that those in the cash arms of the trial were significantly more likely to be virally suppressed at 6 months [We used purposive sampling to recruit female participants aged 18–49 years who were randomized to either of the cash arms and in a relationship at baseline of the trial. Participants were recruited from HIV clinics where they initiated care from November 2019-February 2020, up to eight months after the intervention period, until theme saturation was reached (no new insights emerged from interviewees) [