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The past two decades have witnessed a transition from in-patient hospital admission and care to community and home based care (C&HBC) due to the surge in chronic health conditions in most of southern Africa, including Zimbabwe. The purpose for this study was to explore whether C&HBC met the expectations of clients enrolled in such a programme. A mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, was used. Data from both approaches, qualitative and quantitative, were collected concurrently. Equal weighting was allocated to both sets of data. Interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data from home-based care clients, family care givers and health providers. Quantitative data were collected from clients and primary caregivers using questionnaires. Specific data entry templates were developed for the purpose of entry and analysis in NVivo. Data were synthesised and analysed according to themes. Quantitative data were collated and entered into a CSPro data entry template, before being exported to MS excel and to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for analysis. The quantitative questions were pre-coded before data collection and analysis. The unmet expectations included financial assistance, improved nutrition, availability of medications and improved access to health care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]