Objective: To systematically review the evidence on the association between non-standard working time arrangements (such as night work or shift work) and the occurrence of safety incidents.
Design: Systematic review conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and using a structured narrative approach and the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis framework to evaluate and summarise findings.
Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science and ProQuest Health and Safety Science Abstracts were searched through February 2024. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included peer-reviewed English-language studies of paid workers (18–70 years) that examined the association between non-standard working time arrangements and safety incidents (accidents, near-accidents, safety incidents or injuries), excluding cross-sectional designs and studies on unpaid workers, athletes or military personnel.
Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias using standardised forms, extracting study characteristics (author, year, country, sector and population), working time arrangements and exposure assessment, outcomes and their assessment, and reported risk estimates. We conducted a narrative synthesis, classifying studies into three exposure contrasts (shift worker versus non-shift worker, time-of-day and shift intensity), and summarised risk estimates using forest plots without calculating pooled effects.
Results: A total of [...]