The purpose of this project financed by the ERC Starting Grant is to provide systematic evidence on the diffusion of the health effects of unemployment among family members. HEALFAM investigates how losing a job affects health outcomes of partners, children and elderly parents of the unemployed and whether the magnitudes of these influences differ across families and societies. Thus, instead of viewing the unemployed as functioning in isolation, HEALFAM assesses the consequences of unemployment for family members taking a multi-actor perspective and international comparative approach.