Table 1.

Excerpts from Interview Guide to Explore Providers’ Decision-making Factors for ART Initiation

Domains	Example Core Questions and Probes
Clinical “rules of thumb” for decision-making	What are the most important clinical features you consider in starting/not starting HAART in young patients? Are there any clinical criteria that prompt you to always initiate or not initiate HAART in a young person? What might push you to start HAART for patients with higher CD4 counts? Lower CD4 counts?
Patient-related “rules of thumb” for decision-making	Generally speaking, are there any specific patient factors or behaviors that you consider critical in your decision to initiate or not initiate HAART in young patients? Does a patient’s young age change your usual approach in deciding when to initiate HAART? In what ways? How do you prioritize these factors when making your decision about whether or not to initiate HAART?
Adherence issues and decision-making	How do you decide that patients will/will not be adherent? Are there situations where you have been surprised (i.e. expected patients to do well and they did not and vice versa)? Tell me about those situations. At the end of the day when deciding to initiate HAART for an adolescent/young adult, which is more important, CD4 count or whether your patient is going to be adherent?
Involvement of young patients in decision-making	How do you involve your patients in decision-making? Are there any differences in your approach between younger and older patients? What are they?
Attitudes and preferences working with young people	Generally, how would you rank your preferences in working with children (ages 0–11), adolescents (12–17), young adults (18–24/5), or older adults? How do you feel about working with adolescents and young adults? How does your work with adolescent and young adult populations differ from other populations?