Can health status be improved by job-creating-measures?

Due to structural problems of the East German economy the level of unemploy ment will probably remain high for the next ten years. Thus, thousands of h ealth-employment-schemes are established to reduce negative social and fina ncial consequences of unemployment for those groups that are most affected. In this study the effects of temporary re-employment on health within the bounds of a job-creating measure are examined. By questionnaire employees of two firms in Magdeburg that exclusively occup ies former unemployed men and women were asked about their subjective healt h status and changes in health status since re-employment. 217 employees filled the questionnaire (response rate: 50%; mean age: 45 ye ars, mean duration of former unemployment: 18 months). About one half of th e employees (48 %) report positive effects on health after re-employment. T his percentage is highest in the age group 50 years and older. The frequenc y of health impairments remained unchanged for half of the workers, the res t mainly stated fewer impairments. Poor working conditions or physical over taxing decreases the positive effects of re-employment. Employees who had a positive attitude towards their work report on positive effects on health and other aspects of life more than average. Conclusions: Negative consequences of unemployment on physical and psycholo gical health are well understood. On the other hand, our study demonstrates positive effects on health and a reduction of health impairments by tempor ary job-creating measures. This is influenced by the working conditions and the social environment of the employees. Further investigation are needed for detailed medical evaluation of job-creating schemes.