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. 2023 Dec 11;19(4):e1371.
doi: 10.1002/cl2.1371. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Occupational health and safety regulatory interventions to improve the work environment: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies

Anja Bondebjerg  1 , Trine Filges  1 , Jan Hyld Pejtersen  1 , Malene Wallach Kildemoes  1 , Hermann Burr  2 , Peter Hasle  3 , Emile Tompa  4 , Elizabeth Bengtsen  1
Affiliations

Occupational health and safety regulatory interventions to improve the work environment: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies

Anja Bondebjerg et al. Campbell Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions lead to injuries and financial losses across the globe, resulting in a need for research into effective work environment interventions.

Objectives: The objective of this evidence and gap map (EGM) is to provide an overview of existing systematic reviews and primary studies examining the effects of occupational health and safety regulatory interventions.

Search methods: Relevant studies are identified through searches in published and unpublished literature performed up to January 2023.

Selection criteria: The population for this EGM is workers above the age of 15 and their workplaces within the OECD. We include randomised controlled trials, non-randomised studies with a comparison of two or more groups of participants, and systematic reviews of effects.

Data collection and analysis: The map has been populated based on information about interventions and outcomes, study design, OECD country, and publication status. We have performed critical appraisal of included systematic reviews using an adjusted version of the AMSTAR-2 tool.

Main results: The included studies for this report consist of six systematic reviews, 28 primary effect studies, and three on-going studies. The interactive map shows that the largest cluster of studies is located in the inspection activity domain, while the sickness absence outcome domain and the intervention categories for training initiatives and formulation of regulatory standards are only scarcely populated. Additionally, the AMSTAR-appraisal suggests a lack of rigorous systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Authors’ conclusions: More research in the form of primary studies and rigorous systematic reviews is needed to provide stakeholders with better guidance as to what constitutes the most efficient regulatory approaches to improve the work environment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Logic model of interventions and outcomes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Search in Social Citation Index Expanded (1900–2022) and Social Sciences Citation Index (1956–2022). Search date: 04.01.2022 through the Web of Science platform. Search modes—Boolean/Phrase.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Assessment of critical domains of the AMSTAR‐2 tool.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Flowchart.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Number of studies by study design. Please note that one study used both an randomised controlled trial and a non‐randomised studies design and is therefore counted in both categories.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Number of studies by country. Please note that included systematic reviews may include studies from several countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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McLeod (2018)

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McLeod (2019)

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Mischke (2013)

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Nelson (1997)

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Rautiainen (2008)

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Rubio‐Romero (2015)

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Excluded studies

Arocena (2009)
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Baggs (2003)

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Carpenter (2009)

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Cooke (1981)

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Farina (2016)

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Feltner (2016)

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Gray (1991)

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Gray (1991a)

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Gray (1993)

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Gray (2005)

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Haviland (2010)

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Haviland (2012)

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Imamura (2018)

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Johannessen (2017)

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Ko (2010)

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Lee (2022)

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Mendeloff (2005a)

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Mendeloff (2005b)

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Parker (2016)

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Peek‐Asa (2004)

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Scholz (1990)

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Smitha (2001)

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Tompa (2007)

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Tompa (2016)

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Abildgaard (2021)
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Indregard (2019)

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Sundstrup (2022)

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