Financial Vulnerability and Its Association with HIV Transmission Risk Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs in Kyrgyzstan

The Family Resource Scale (FRS) is a three-factor financial vulnerability (FV) measure. FV may impact HIV transmission risks. Cross-sectional data from 279 people who inject drugs (PWID) in Kyrgyzstan surveyed April–October 2021 was used to validate the FRS and estimate associations between FV on past 6-month injection and sexual HIV risk outcomes. The three-factor FRS reflected housing, essential needs, and fiscal independence, and had good internal reliability and structural validity. Greater cumulative, housing, and essential needs FRS scores were associated with increased relative risk on public injection (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.03 [1.01, 1.04]; aRR [95% CI]: 1.06 [1.02, 1.09]; aRR [95% CI]: 1.06 [1.03, 1.08], respectively, all p < 0.001) and preparing injections with unsafe water sources (aRR [95% CI]: 1.04 [1.02, 1.07]; aRR [95% CI]: 1.09 [1.04, 1.15]; aRR [95% CI]: 1.08 [1.03, 1.14], respectively, all p < 0.001). Results suggest that PWID housing- and essential needs-related FV may exacerbate injection HIV transmission risks. Reducing PWIDs’ FV may enhance the HIV response in Kyrgyzstan.