The aim of the meta-analysis is to quantify the effectiveness of prevention and health promotion interventions for the unemployed people. There is a particularly high need for prevention for the unemployed, as they exhibit increased risks for illness and premature mortality as well as less favourable health behavior compared to employed persons. A quantitative meta-analysis of such health-related interventions has yet to be conducted, although more than 50 corresponding studies can now be identified. In addition to calculating an average meta-analytic effect size that maps the effectiveness of such interventions, moderator analyses will be used to determine,

(1) which theoretical approaches on which the interventions are based are associated with greater or lesser effectiveness;

(2) which characteristics of the implementation of the interventions (e.g., lifeworld approach, health promotion settings, individual vs. group settings, size of intervention in hours, etc.) influence effectiveness; and

(3) which sociodemographic characteristics of the sample influence effectiveness (e.g., age and gender, but especially aspects of current life situation such as duration of unemployment, placement barriers, etc.).

This meta-analysis will allow the development of recommendations for science and practice to identify the most effective access routes and setting approaches for health promotion and research as well as for health-related interventions for the unemployed and potentially other socially disadvantaged groups.