Impact of unemployment on health in Iran: A scoping review of 15 years of research

One of the social determinants of physical and mental health is unemployment. This has a harmful effect even when the social class, poverty, age, and history of previous illnesses are also controlled. The purpose of this study was to review the evidence of the unemployment on the health of Iranian society.

This study was conducted using a scoping review to find empirical research papers published on the impact of unemployment on health in Iran from 2003 to 2018. Seven electronic databases and two search engines were searched using appropriate keywords. Bibliography section of the retrieved papers and related journals were also searched for papers that were not yet indexed in the databases. 1063 publications were identified. All retrieved papers were assessed using a valid checklist before analysis. Finally, 56 empirical studies were reviewed using MAXQDA software.

About 39.3 percent of articles was published in Persian on impact of unemployment on health, which 70% of them have been written since 2011. Most of the studies were conducted in Tehran, Esfahan and Eastern Azerbaijan provinces. In this study, four main themes were psychological hazards, physical dilemmas, family problems, and socioeconomic risks.

Unemployment has the greatest impact on the dependent variable of multidimensional poverty (health). Therefore, attention to professional and occupational policies, the establishment of social welfare systems and taxation can help to expand employment and increasing the share of GDP to implement labor market programs is essential. Efforts to raise employment should be prioritized.