Among Ugandan fisherfolk, HIV
prevalence (with estimates ranging from 15 to 40 %) is higher than in the
general population (about 7 %), potentially due to high-risk behaviors and
low access to HIV testing and healthcare.
We conducted semi-structured interviews on barriers to linkage to care with 10 key stakeholders and 25 fisherfolk within 1-2 months of their testing HIV-positive at clinic outreach events in Ugandan Lake Victoria communities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and coded using grounded theory methods.
Participants cited low healthcare access and quality of care, mobility, competing needs for work during clinic hours, stigma, and low social support as barriers.
Over 10 % of clients screened positive for HIV at outreach events, and only half accessed care. Linkage to care issues may begin with the failure to attract high-risk fisherfolk to testing.
New models of HIV testing and treatment delivery are needed to reach fisherfolk.
We conducted semi-structured interviews on barriers to linkage to care with 10 key stakeholders and 25 fisherfolk within 1-2 months of their testing HIV-positive at clinic outreach events in Ugandan Lake Victoria communities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and coded using grounded theory methods.
Participants cited low healthcare access and quality of care, mobility, competing needs for work during clinic hours, stigma, and low social support as barriers.
Over 10 % of clients screened positive for HIV at outreach events, and only half accessed care. Linkage to care issues may begin with the failure to attract high-risk fisherfolk to testing.
New models of HIV testing and treatment delivery are needed to reach fisherfolk.
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By:
- 1Health Unit, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA. lbogart@rand.org.
- 2Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. lbogart@rand.org.
- 3Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. lbogart@rand.org.
- 4Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda.
- 5Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- 6Health Unit, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
- 7Mildmay Uganda, Lweza, Uganda.
- AIDS Behav. 2016 Mar 9.
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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