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