Tuesday, October 21, 2008
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – Dr. Stanley DeViney, a professor in the department of social sciences at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, has received notification that his abstract “Health and Wealth: The Relationship Between Housing Wealth and Changes in Health Status” has been accepted for presentation at the 61st annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.
Scientific sessions comprised of posters, papers and symposium are scheduled for November 22-24. The meeting concludes with a congressional briefing on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 25. Physicians, nurses, social workers and psychologists will attend and be eligible for continuing education credits.
The premise for DeViney’s research is based on the well documented relationship between income, occupation, education and health in the later years of life. He tested this relationship between housing wealth and health status using seven waves of the Rand version of the Health and Retirement Survey in a pool times-series model. The outcome was that housing wealth was associated with fewer major medical conditions and better self-reported health over time. His results support the life course/accumulative advantage theory that resources gained over the life course are linked to better health. In viewing the American health policy and health, he states that the role of wealth inequality, particularly housing, needs to be taken into account.
###
Gail Stephens, assistant director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-651-7580, gcstephens@umes.edu.
