Abstract
The objective of this study was to identify and describe levels of household economic vulnerability in HIV-affected communities in Côte d'Ivoire, defined as those with a high prevalence of HIV and large numbers of orphans and vulnerable children. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 3,749 households in five health regions of Côte d'Ivoire. Using principal component analysis, we attempted to identify sets of correlated vulnerabilities and derive a small number of composite scores to create an index for targeting interventions to vulnerable populations. The 65 vulnerability measures examined did not cluster in ways that would allow for the creation of a small number of composite measures. Instead, we found that households face numerous unique pathways to vulnerability.
Grants and funding
This study was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This study was produced under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-LA-13-00001. The contents are the responsibility of FHI 360 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Author FMS is employed by Synergie Expertise. Synergie Expertise is the data collection firm hired to collect the data for this study, and it provided support in the form of salary for author FMS, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.