“The one who doesn’t take ART medication has no wealth at all and no purpose on Earth” – a qualitative assessment of how HIV-positive adults in Uganda understand the health and wealth-related benefits of ART

Table 1 Sample characteristics (n = 38)

Variable	N (%)
Sex
Female	20 (50%)
Male	20 (50%)
Employed
Not currently employed	12 (30%)
Currently employed	26 (65%)
Unknown	2 (5%)
Language
Luganda	22 (55%)
English	16 (40%)
Unknown	2 (5%)
Age
18–39 years	26 (65%)
40 + years	14 (35%)
Highest level of education completed ^a
None	3 (7.5%)
Primary	14 (35%)
Secondary	16 (40%)
Vocational	3 (7.5%)
University	2 (5%)
Unknown	2 (5%)
Relationship
Not in relationship	21 (52.5%)
In relationship	17 (42.5%)
Unknown	2 (5%)
Mean monthly income ^b	$43.50
Virally suppressed at last clinic viral load (< 200 copies/mL)	18 (45%)
WHO HIV Infection Stage
Stage 1 (with CD4 > 350 cells/μL)	27 (67.5%)
Stage 2 (with CD4 < 350 cells/μL)	5 (12.5%)
Stage 3 or 4 (with CD4 < 200 cells/μL)	6 (15%)
Unknown	2 (5%)

Data for sex and age obtained from clinic database, so N = 40; variables with “Unknown” are those obtained from survey data at baseline (which was collected 3 months after the qualitative study as part of routine study data collection)
^a Individuals in Uganda typically obtain vocational education after primary or secondary school education as post-primary or post-secondary training, but always prior to any university training
^b Income estimation is based on the sample after excluding 2 outliers due to their disproportionate likely due to data entry error. USD estimates calculated based on exchange rate of 1 USD = 3700 Ugandan Shillings in January 2019

ISSN: 1471-2458