Table 2.

Overview of the coding process

Theme	Decision management: deciding on the spot or days later
Categories	Multiplicity of trust			Emotions
Subcategories	Trust in doctors	Trust in the institution	Trust in the CT system	Associated with HIV	Associated with ART
Codes	Feeling emotionally supported and comfortable in consent dialogue Humanized care	Feeling emotionally supported Humanized care Good reputation (both nationally and scientifically) vs bad reputation of the public health and social health insurance funds systems	Expectation of receiving extra/consistent care Full availability of the physician/researcher Management efficacy in monitoring Antiretroviral clinical trial regimens are less toxic than regular care ones	Feeling vulnerable due to being recently diagnosed with HIV Perception of being a guinea pig Fear of progression to AIDS	There is no choice: you need treatment Side-effect fatigue of previous antiretroviral treatment Fear of adverse effects of CT treatment Not giving in to fear of adverse effects

Theme	The importance of personal communication in informed consent
Categories	Explaining the informed consent: the human factor	Unfriendly informed consent forms
Subcategories	Understandable consent dialogue	Unintelligible text	Frightening adverse effects	Rights & duties
Codes	Clear and detailed information  The guinea pig metaphor  Resolving doubts  Complete dialogue with physicians	Scientific writing, not easy to read   Not adapted to different education levels	Too long, too many pages Too much information about adverse effects	Always focused on bad news Who is responsible for the transition when leaving the CT