Walusaga, Happy Annet Gasaatura
Atuyambe, Lynn M
Muddu, Martin
Mpirirwe, Ruth
Nangendo, Joan
Kalibbala, Dennis
Semitala, Fred C.
Katahoire, Anne R.
Article History
Received: 30 March 2023
Accepted: 19 October 2023
First Online: 26 October 2023
Declarations
:
: The study was approved by The AIDS Support Organization Research and Ethics Committee (TASO REC 031/2021-REC-009) and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNSCT-SS957ES). This was a purely observational study with no experiments and no removal of human tissue samples. All study methods followed the relevant guidelines and regulations of TASO REC–009 and UNSCT-SS957ES. We obtained a waiver of consent from the TASO REC registration number REC 009 to use the clients’ medical data (secondary data) for quantitative data collection. Additionally, we received administrative clearance from the leadership of the Mulago ISS clinic to access and abstract data from the clinic’s medical records. For the in-depth interviews, written informed consent was obtained from each participant before they participated in the study. For participants who could not read or write, consent was obtained from their legal guardians. The study was fully explained to potential study participants, either in Luganda for the non-English speaking (local language where the clinic is located) or in English for the English-speaking, to allow participants to make an informed decision to participate in the study. A participant was free to withdraw from the study at any time if they wanted to, without any consequence on their care at the clinic. The REC-approved consent form was signed and dated, and a copy was provided to each study participant. All study participants were adults above 18 years of age. Some of the steps taken to maintain participants’ confidentiality included replacing names with unique study identification numbers and always keeping participant data (audio recordings and the abstracted database) on password-protected computers. Principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki were followed in the conduct of this study.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare no competing interests.