Provider barriers	Theme	Code	Subcode	Example
	LACK OF PROVIDER EDUCATION	Education	Schooling	I have never been trained...in school – not specifically. (Nurse, M) No, it’s [CM training] what I learnt in medical school. (Medical officer, M)
			Continuing medical education	Not when I am here, I think, I think when I was still in school [last time for CM training]. (Medical officer, 27) Outside School I didn’t have any. [CM] training. (Nurse, M)
	LACK OF PROVIDER KNOWLEDGE	Knowledge	Cryptococcal meningitis knowledge	I think I can say inadequate knowledge about cryptococcal meningitis. It can be the major barrier because if you don’t know or if you cannot suspect what you don’t know. (Clinical officer, M) That alone, I can’t deceive because I have never seen... have never reviewed it [clinical guidelines]. (Nurse, F)
			Uganda clinical guidelines	...no guideline is available. (Clinical officer, F) I’ve not yet reviewed the guidelines, I’ve never reviewed, maybe people review it but me personally, I’ve not. (Nurse, M)
	GAPS RELATED TO INADEQUATE PROVIDER KNOWLEDGE		Missed/misdiagnosis	...they [the patient] will not tell you everything, so basing on their symptoms you may miss it, you may just send them and do other tests... (Clinical officer, M) ... lack of clinical knowledge or skills on how to diagnose and then secondly when you have the strips, the test strips are faulty, so the result may become negative when actually the patient is what positive. (Medical officer, 27)
			Patient education	... health educating a patient—It will make that patient who is down there or who is having those signs to come up or come to the hospital and get treatment. (Nurse, F) ...also give health education to the community...we should also give that health education. (Nurse, F)
	LACK OF SUPPLIES	Diagnostics		...reagents [for CM testing] are not there. (Clinical officer, M) ...lack of the diagnostic materials. (Nurse, M)
		Treatment		...the fluconazole, the price is very high. Other people they cannot afford, so we always end up referring them to the government hospital where they can get free service. (Nurse, F) The drugs at times are not here. (Clinical officer, F)