Alysis Semi-structured interviews were conducted between February and May 2009 after the study received ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Curtin University (Western Australia), the Makerere University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board, Kampala, Uganda and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. The participants were informed about the objectives, procedures and implications of the study. They were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary, and they were free to withdraw at any stage of the study without any negative consequences in terms of access to care and support. Using an interview guide with 38 openended questions, the interviewers explored factors influencing reproductive decision-making, experiences of HIV stigma, Chaetocin manufacturer influence of family, friends and community, and health workers’ perceptions towards PLHIV’s desires to have children. The interviews were conducted in person in the privacy of participants’ homes or in a community setting of the participants’ choice, and out of the hearing range ofNattabi B et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15:17421 http://www.jiasociety.org/content/15/2/17421 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.2.other family members and neighbours to ensure that they were not privy to the reasons and content of the interview. All participants provided consent. The interviews lasted between 1 and 2 hours and were conducted in Luo (a dialect widely spoken in northern Uganda), audio-recorded, then transcribed and translated into English. Interview transcripts were imported into Nvivo8 (QSR International Pty Ltd) and were systematically read and initially coded using an open coding method [32]. The process of analysis drew inspiration from thematic content analysis and was guided by the Framework Approach to Analysis [33,34]. The aim of the analysis was to produce a succinct and reliable matrix of key themes [35] and to develop concepts from the data rooted in the reality of the participants’ experiences [36]. The first author reviewed the themes with the interviewers in order to increase authenticity. The inductively developed coding themes and sub-themes were then compared and refined against the “Conceptual Model of HIV/AIDS Stigma” [23], to identify dominant themes and sub-themes relating to experiences of stigma particularly around triggers, behaviours, types, outcomes and agents of stigmatization. Transcripts were read repeatedly and cases and quotations that Necrostatin-1MedChemExpress Necrostatin-1 illustrated the themes were selected [37]. Findings In the first part of the findings, we present a summary of the findings pertaining to the desire to have children among PLHIV as this sets the context for understanding the desire to have children in this strongly patriarchal society. Then we present the findings on experiences of stigma and how the process of, and dimensions of stigma, directly or indirectly influence the desire to have children among PLHIV in northern Uganda. Finally, we present how PLHIV manage both internal and external expressions of stigma in order to meet their own reproductive needs. Desire to have children among PLHIV The interviews revealed that there was a marked difference in desire to have children by sex and there was a range of factors that influenced these desires. Nine of the 26 participants (35 ), all male, said they would still like to have children in the future while 15 participants, 13 of them female and only two male, sa.Alysis Semi-structured interviews were conducted between February and May 2009 after the study received ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Curtin University (Western Australia), the Makerere University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board, Kampala, Uganda and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. The participants were informed about the objectives, procedures and implications of the study. They were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary, and they were free to withdraw at any stage of the study without any negative consequences in terms of access to care and support. Using an interview guide with 38 openended questions, the interviewers explored factors influencing reproductive decision-making, experiences of HIV stigma, influence of family, friends and community, and health workers’ perceptions towards PLHIV’s desires to have children. The interviews were conducted in person in the privacy of participants’ homes or in a community setting of the participants’ choice, and out of the hearing range ofNattabi B et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15:17421 http://www.jiasociety.org/content/15/2/17421 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.2.other family members and neighbours to ensure that they were not privy to the reasons and content of the interview. All participants provided consent. The interviews lasted between 1 and 2 hours and were conducted in Luo (a dialect widely spoken in northern Uganda), audio-recorded, then transcribed and translated into English. Interview transcripts were imported into Nvivo8 (QSR International Pty Ltd) and were systematically read and initially coded using an open coding method [32]. The process of analysis drew inspiration from thematic content analysis and was guided by the Framework Approach to Analysis [33,34]. The aim of the analysis was to produce a succinct and reliable matrix of key themes [35] and to develop concepts from the data rooted in the reality of the participants’ experiences [36]. The first author reviewed the themes with the interviewers in order to increase authenticity. The inductively developed coding themes and sub-themes were then compared and refined against the “Conceptual Model of HIV/AIDS Stigma” [23], to identify dominant themes and sub-themes relating to experiences of stigma particularly around triggers, behaviours, types, outcomes and agents of stigmatization. Transcripts were read repeatedly and cases and quotations that illustrated the themes were selected [37]. Findings In the first part of the findings, we present a summary of the findings pertaining to the desire to have children among PLHIV as this sets the context for understanding the desire to have children in this strongly patriarchal society. Then we present the findings on experiences of stigma and how the process of, and dimensions of stigma, directly or indirectly influence the desire to have children among PLHIV in northern Uganda. Finally, we present how PLHIV manage both internal and external expressions of stigma in order to meet their own reproductive needs. Desire to have children among PLHIV The interviews revealed that there was a marked difference in desire to have children by sex and there was a range of factors that influenced these desires. Nine of the 26 participants (35 ), all male, said they would still like to have children in the future while 15 participants, 13 of them female and only two male, sa.