title: Systematic review of qualitative literature on occupational health and safety legislation and regulatory enforcement planning and implementation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The ability of occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation and regulatory enforcement to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses is contingent on political, economic, and organizational conditions. This systematic review of qualitative research articles considers how OHS legislation and regulatory enforcement are planned and implemented.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed, English-language articles published between 1990 and 2013 yielded 11 947 articles. We identified 34 qualitative articles as relevant, 18 of which passed our quality assessment and proceeded to meta-ethnographic synthesis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The synthesis yielded four main themes: OHS regulation formation, regulation challenges, inspector organization, and worker representation in OHS. It illuminates how OHS legislation can be based on normative suppositions about worker and employer behavior and shaped by economic and political resources of parties. It also shows how implementation of OHS legislation is affected by "general duty" law, agency coordination, resourcing of inspectorates, and ability of workers to participate in the system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The review identifies methodological gaps and identifies promising areas for further research in "grey" zones of legislation implementation.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. ellen.maceachen@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: MacEachen
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kosny
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ståhl
authors.forename: Fergal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: O'Hagan
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Redgrift
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanford
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: Emile
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tompa
authors.forename: Quenby
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mahood
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D057766:Policy; D011057:Politics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012449:Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017132:Workplace / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*