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Review
. 2023 Jul;53(3):311-322.
doi: 10.1177/27551938231176374. Epub 2023 Jun 5.

Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic

Courtney L McNamara  1   2 , Virginia Kotzias  2 , Clare Bambra  1   2 , Ronald Labonté  3 , David Stuckler  4
Affiliations
Review

Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic

Courtney L McNamara et al. Int J Soc Determinants Health Health Serv. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Social protection can buffer the negative impacts of unemployment on health. Have stimulus packages introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic mitigated potential harms to health from unemployment? We performed a systematic review of the health effects of job loss during the first year of the pandemic. We searched three electronic databases and identified 49 studies for inclusion. Three United States-based studies found that stimulus programs mitigated the impact of job loss on food security and mental health. Furloughs additionally appeared to reduce negative impacts when they were paid. However, despite the implementation of large-scale stimulus packages to reduce economic harms, we observed a clear pattern that job losses were nevertheless significantly associated with negative impacts, particularly on mental health, quality of life, and food security. We also observe suggestive evidence that COVID-related job loss was associated with child maltreatment, worsening dental health, and poor chronic disease outcomes. Overall, although we did find evidence that income-support policies appeared to help protect people from the negative health consequences of pandemic-related job loss, they were not sufficient to fully offset the threats to health. Future research should ascertain how to ensure adequate access to and generosity of social protection programs during epidemics and economic downturns.

Keywords: covid-19; food security; mental health; social protection; unemployment.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flowchart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Coverage of countries included in the review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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