Patient Safety Incidents and Prevalence of the Second Victim among Health Care Providers in Maternity and Children Hospital

Mousa, Ola; Abdulrahman Almefarfesh, Aishah; Alomar, Norah; A. Shahin, Doaa; Salah Abdelhamed, Mohamed

doi:10.21608/ejhc.2024.411442

Patient Safety Incidents and Prevalence of the Second Victim among Health Care Providers in Maternity and Children Hospital

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Woman’s Health and Obstetrics Department, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt.

² Department of Nursing, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.

³ Lecturer of nursing administration, Faculty of nursing, Badr University in Cairo, Egypt.

⁴ Lecturer of obstetrics and gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Egypt

10.21608/ejhc.2024.411442

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of second victimisation among healthcare professionals after a patient safety event is estimated to range between 14% to 43%, even though second victim support has received limited attention. The second-victim phenomenon manifests through various signs and symptoms, which can be physical, psychological, emotional, or behavioural. Aim of the study: This study investigates adverse events and the prevalence of second victims among healthcare providers in Maternity and Children Hospital. It also determines the most common symptoms following second victim phenomena and investigates the support available to the individuals impacted by the event. Methods: A descriptive exploratory study was conducted among 188 nurses and physicians at Minia University Maternity and Children Hospital. This study employed a non-probability convenient sample consisting of physicians and nurses with more than one year of full-time experience. To gather data, an anonymous cross-sectional survey using a German standardized questionnaire "SeViD-I" was conducted among healthcare providers. Results: Nurses represented most of the participants, and doctors represented 27.7%. Over half (57.4%) of nurses experienced the second victim phenomenon, and about two-thirds (65.4%) of physicians did. The study found that more than two-thirds of nurses expressed anger towards themselves and guilty feelings and wished to work through the incident to better understand it. In the present study, most doctors (79.5%) intend to provide valuable perspectives to avoid alike events in the future. There was a positive correlation between participants’ department of work and the prevalence of the second victim. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals in high-pressure environments, such as those in obstetrics and paediatrics areas, are vulnerable to becoming second victims because of the acuity and complexity of patient cases. Over half of the nurses and about two-thirds of the physicians experienced the second victim phenomenon. Over two-thirds of nurses expressed anger towards themselves and wished to go through the incident for better understanding. After the incident most doctors aimed to contribute insights to prevent similar events in the future.

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