Imperial College London
Alternate

ProfessorSimonGregson

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

Professor in Demography and Behavioural Science
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 3279s.gregson

 
 
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Location

 

LG27Praed StreetSt Mary's Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Del:2016:10.1371/journal.pone.0163730,
author = {Del, Fava E and Piccarreta, R and Gregson, S and Melegaro, A},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0163730},
journal = {PLOS One},
title = {Transition to parenthood and HIV infection in rural Zimbabwe},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163730},
volume = {11},
year = {2016}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BackgroundThe relationship between the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and people’s choices about life course events describing the transition to parenthood–sexual debut, union (in the form of marriage, cohabitation, or long-term relationship), and parenthood–is still unclear. A crucial role in shaping this relationship may be played by the sequence of these events and by their timing. This suggests the opportunity to focus on the life courses in their entirety rather than on the specific events, thus adopting a holistic approach that regards each individual’s life course trajectory as a whole.MethodsWe summarise the individual life courses describing the transition to parenthood using ordered sequences of the three considered events. We aim to (i) investigate the association between the sequences and HIV infection, and (ii) understand how these sequences interact with known mechanisms for HIV transmission, such as the length of sexual exposure and the experience of non-regular sexual partnerships. For this purpose, we use data from a general population cohort study run in Manicaland (Zimbabwe), a Sub-Saharan African area characterised by high HIV prevalence.ResultsFor both genders, individuals who experienced either premarital or delayed childbearing have higher HIV risk compared to individuals following more standard transitions. This can be explained by the interplay of the sequences with known HIV proximate determinants, e.g., a longer exposure to sexual activity and higher rates of premarital sex. Moreover, we found that people in the younger birth cohorts experience more normative and safer sequences.ConclusionsThe shift of younger generations towards more normative transitions to parenthood is a sign of behaviour change that might have contributed to the observed reduction in HIV prevalence in the area. On the other hand, for people with less normative transitions, targeted strategies are essential for HI
AU  - Del,Fava E
AU  - Piccarreta,R
AU  - Gregson,S
AU  - Melegaro,A
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0163730
PY  - 2016///
SN  - 1932-6203
TI  - Transition to parenthood and HIV infection in rural Zimbabwe
T2  - PLOS One
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163730
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000384328500108&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/43306
VL  - 11
ER  -
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