Traditional treatment of HIV and the role of family members as barriers to access to HIV care service or antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV

Access to HIV care service or antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential for the improvement of health outcomes of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and in reducing HIV transmission and HIV-related deaths. As a part of a qualitative study in Belu, this paper describes the use of traditional treatment and the role of families in determining traditional treatment for their HIV-positive family member as barriers to access to HIV care service or ART among PLHIV. One-on-one in-depth interviews were employed to collect data from 46 PLHIV (26 women and 20 men) and 10 healthcare professionals recruited using the snowball sampling technique. Data analysis was performed using NVivo 12 software and guided by a qualitative data analysis framework. The findings showed that the use of traditional treatment, a well-known cultural practice in Belu, was a barrier to access to HIV care service or ART among PLHIV. The role of family in determining traditional treatment for HIV, supported by the lack of knowledge of ART, effectiveness of traditional medicines in treating other health issues, and social influence of families, neighbours and friends, were also significant barriers to PLHIV’s access to HIV care service or ART. The findings indicate the need for dissemination of HIV care-related information for PLHIV, family and community members to increase their knowledge on the service, ART and its function, and to support and improve access to ART by PLHIV.