HIV risk perception and risk taking among people who inject drugs in Saveh, in Central Iran: findings from a national study

Background The objective of this study was to explore HIV risk perceptions and to examine the factors associated with the perceptions of HIV risk among people who inject drugs in Saveh, Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, 272 people who inject drugs in Saveh were recruited using a convenience snowball sampling method between April 2020 and May 2021. Two classes of HIV risk perception (high versus low) were identified using logistic regression to determine factors associated with individual HIV risk perception. Results Study participants were categorized as having a low (n = 181, 66.5%) or high (n = 91, 33.5%) risk perception for becoming infected with HIV. The odds of categorizing as high risk for HIV was significantly greater in participants who reported: injecting their drugs more than 2 times per day (AOR = 2.4, p < .05); receptive syringe sharing (AOR = 3.1, p < .05) and as HIV positive (AOR = 3.9, p < .05). Participants who smoked heroin (AOR = 0.4, p < .05) and who had received any psychosocial intervention in the previous 3 months (AOR = 0.3, p < .05) were less likely to perceive being at high for HIV risk. Conclusions Interventional programs should focus on improving the perceptions of people who inject drugs toward HIV risk and reducing their HIV risk behaviors through increased HIV self-assessments.