How to use sequence analysis for life course epidemiology? An example on HIV-positive Sub-Saharan migrants in France
type: Article
item type: journalArticle
is part of: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
authors: Person
  surname: Gosselin
  given name: Anne
authors: Person
  surname: Desgrées du Loû
  given name: Annabel
authors: Person
  surname: Lelièvre
  given name: Eva
abstract: Background Life course epidemiology is now an established field in social epidemiology; in sociodemography, the quantitative analysis of biographies recently experienced significant trend from event history analysis to sequence analysis. The purpose of this article is to introduce and adapt this methodology to a social epidemiology question, taking the example of the impact of HIV diagnosis on Sub-Saharan migrants’ residential trajectories in the Paris region. Methods The sample consists of 640 migrants born in Sub-Saharan Africa receiving HIV care. They were interviewed in healthcare facilities in the Paris region within the PARCOURS project, conducted from 2012 to 2013, using life event history calendars, which recorded year by year their health, family and residential histories. We introduce a two-step methodological approach consisting of (1) sequence analysis by optimal matching to build a typology of migrants’ residential pathways before and after diagnosis, and (2) a Cox model of the probability to experience changes in the residential situation. Results The seven-clusters typology shows that for a majority, the HIV diagnosis did not entail changes in residential situation. However 30% of the migrants experienced a change in their residential situation at time of diagnosis. The Cox model analysis reveals that this residential change was in fact moving in with one’s partner (HR 2.99, P<0.000) rather than network rejection. Conclusion This original combination of sequence analysis and Cox models is a powerful process that could be applied to other themes and constitutes a new approach in the life course epidemiology toolbox.
date: 2018-02-02
pages: 507-512
citation key: gosselinHowUseSequence2018
date submitted: 2018-02-05 09:31:32
short title: How to use sequence analysis for life course epidemiology?
language: en
library catalog: CrossRef

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
type: Journal
volume: 7
number: 6
identifier: DOI 10.1136/jech-2017-209739
identifier: ISSN 0143-005X, 1470-2738