title: Does provision of targeted health care for the unemployed enhance re-employment?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is increasing pressure to develop services to enhance the health of the workforce on the periphery of the labour market. Health promotion among unemployed people may improve their health but also to increase their employability. We tested whether re-employment can be enhanced with a health care intervention targeted at the unemployed.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 3-year follow-up, controlled design was used. The data were collected among unemployed people (n = 539) participating in active labour market policy measures. The baseline survey included established habitually used health questionnaires. The intervention consisted of three health check-ups and on-demand health services. Logistic regression analyses were used to obtain the odds ratios of the intervention group versus control group for being re-employed at follow-up. Health-related differences in the re-employment effects of the intervention were assessed through the significance of the interaction in the regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intervention did not serve to improve re-employment: at follow-up 50% of both the intervention group and the control group were at work. In further analyses, the odds ratios showed that the intervention tended to improve re-employment among participants in good health, whereas an opposite tendency was seen among those with poor health. The differences, however, were statistically non-significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The experimental health service did not show any beneficial effects on re-employment. Nevertheless, rather than considering any particular health care as unnecessary and ineffective, we would like to stress the complexity of providing health services to match the diversity of the unemployed.
authors.affiliation: P,O Box 607, 33014 Tampere, Finland. katri.romppainen@uta.fi.
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Romppainen
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saloniemi
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kinnunen
authors.forename: Virpi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Liukkonen
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Virtanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*