Threats and violence as a precursor to occupational injury : Text-mining of insurance-based information on police officers and security guards in Sweden 2004-2007

The full text of all occupational injury claims associated with threats or violence from Police Officers and Security Guards reported to the Swedish National workers’ compensation insurance 2004 –2007 was analysed with the help of text-mining software. The analysis generated clusters of details on hazardous exposures and accident processes, and the level of information in the clusters describing the different scenarios identified possible practical modifications in training, technology and professional operating procedures. The analysis of the textual information in the reporting of traumatic injuries promises to better represent the dynamics and detail of exposure and accident process and, when applied to valid and representative insurance data with the help of a suitable text-mining software, will provide industry groups and local companies with detailed decision support for safety management and prevention.QC 2011080