Facilitators and Barriers to Linkage to HIV Care among Female Sex Workers Receiving HIV Testing Services at a Community-Based Organization in Periurban Uganda: A Qualitative Study

Table 3

Barriers to linkage to HIV care.

Theme	Subtheme	Key emerging issues
Health systems factors	Negative attitude of health workers; Rigid treatment policies	(i) Discrimination from health workers at the government health facilities; (ii) Requirement of a treatment supporter; (iii) Long procedures for enrolment
Social network factors	Stigma	(i) Fear to be seen at the clinic
	Myths and fears about HIV and ARVs	(i) ARVs kill fast and need a lot of care; (ii) ARVs weaken and disrupt work; (iii) Fear of swallowing drugs for life; (iv) Loss of hope due to fear of death after testing
	Lack of information about HIV and denial of HIV results	(i) Do not know what HIV is; (ii) Difficulty in identifying an HIV clinic due to lack of information; (iii) Do not believe the HIV test results; (iv) Use of herbs and self-medication
	Work-related factors	(i) Busy work schedule/lack of time; (ii) Travelling in different places in search for clients; (iii) Difficulty in tracing the street based FSWs
	Financial constraints	(i) Lack of money for food; (ii) Transport costs to the health facility