An Evidence and Consensus-Based Definition of Second Victim: A Strategic Topic in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Person-Centeredness and Human Resource Management

doi:10.3390/ijerph192416869

. 2022 Dec 15;19(24):16869.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416869.

An Evidence and Consensus-Based Definition of Second Victim: A Strategic Topic in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Person-Centeredness and Human Resource Management

Affiliations

¹ Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
² Department of Quality, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
³ Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy.
⁴ Wiesbaden Business School, RheinMain University of Applied Science, 65183 Wiesbaden, Germany.
⁵ The Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region, 03550 Alicante, Spain.
⁶ Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain.
⁷ Department of Political Science, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland.
⁸ Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, ML 21205, USA.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406 Tartu, Estonia.
¹⁰ National Institute of Health Services Management, 021253 Bucharest, Romania.
¹¹ Nursing Department, Health Sciences Faculty, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.

PMID: 36554750
PMCID: PMC9779047
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416869

An Evidence and Consensus-Based Definition of Second Victim: A Strategic Topic in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Person-Centeredness and Human Resource Management

Kris Vanhaecht et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 Dec 15;19(24):16869.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416869.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
² Department of Quality, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
³ Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy.
⁴ Wiesbaden Business School, RheinMain University of Applied Science, 65183 Wiesbaden, Germany.
⁵ The Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region, 03550 Alicante, Spain.
⁶ Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain.
⁷ Department of Political Science, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland.
⁸ Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, ML 21205, USA.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406 Tartu, Estonia.
¹⁰ National Institute of Health Services Management, 021253 Bucharest, Romania.
¹¹ Nursing Department, Health Sciences Faculty, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.

PMID: 36554750
PMCID: PMC9779047
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416869

Abstract

The concept of second victims (SV) was introduced 20 years ago to draw attention to healthcare professionals involved in patient safety incidents. The objective of this paper is to advance the theoretical conceptualization and to develop a common definition. A literature search was performed in Medline, EMBASE and CINAHL (October 2010 to November 2020). The description of SV was extracted regarding three concepts: (1) involved persons, (2) content of action and (3) impact. Based on these concepts, a definition was proposed and discussed within the ERNST-COST consortium in 2021 and 2022. An international group of experts finalized the definition. In total, 83 publications were reviewed. Based on expert consensus, a second victim was defined as: "Any health care worker, directly or indirectly involved in an unanticipated adverse patient event, unintentional healthcare error, or patient injury and who becomes victimized in the sense that they are also negatively impacted". The proposed definition can be used to help to reduce the impact of incidents on both healthcare professionals and organizations, thereby indirectly improve healthcare quality, patient safety, person-centeredness and human resource management.

Keywords: healthcare professionals; healthcare quality; human resource management; patient safety; person-centeredness; second victim.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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References

1. World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. Towards Zero Patients Harm in Healthcare. 2020. [(accessed on 13 November 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/patient-safety/poli....
1. Wu A.W. Medical Error: The Second Victim. The Doctor Who Makes the Mistake Needs Help Too. BMJ. 2000;320:726–727. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Scott S.D., Hirschinger L.E., Cox K.R., McCoig M., Brandt J., Hall L.W. The Natural History of Recovery for the Healthcare Provider “Second Victim” after Adverse Patient Events. Qual. Saf. Health Care. 2009;18:325–330. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2009.032870. - DOI - PubMed
1. Van Gerven E., Elst T.V., Vandenbroeck S., Dierickx S., Euwema M., Sermeus W., De Witte H., Godderis L., Vanhaecht K. Increased Risk of Burnout for Physicians and Nurses Involved in a Patient Safety Incident. Med. Care. 2016;54:937–943. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000582. - DOI - PubMed
1. Merandi J., Winning A.M., Liao N., Rogers E., Lewe D., Gerhardt C.A. Implementation of a Second Victim Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Interim Analysis of Employee Satisfaction. J. Patient Saf. Risk Manag. 2018;23:231–238. doi: 10.1177/2516043518809457. - DOI

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[1] World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. Towards Zero Patients Harm in Healthcare. 2020. [(accessed on 13 November 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/patient-safety/poli....

[2] World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. Towards Zero Patients Harm in Healthcare. 2020. [(accessed on 13 November 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/patient-safety/poli....

[3] Wu A.W. Medical Error: The Second Victim. The Doctor Who Makes the Mistake Needs Help Too. BMJ. 2000;320:726–727. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Wu A.W. Medical Error: The Second Victim. The Doctor Who Makes the Mistake Needs Help Too. BMJ. 2000;320:726–727. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Scott S.D., Hirschinger L.E., Cox K.R., McCoig M., Brandt J., Hall L.W. The Natural History of Recovery for the Healthcare Provider “Second Victim” after Adverse Patient Events. Qual. Saf. Health Care. 2009;18:325–330. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2009.032870. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Scott S.D., Hirschinger L.E., Cox K.R., McCoig M., Brandt J., Hall L.W. The Natural History of Recovery for the Healthcare Provider “Second Victim” after Adverse Patient Events. Qual. Saf. Health Care. 2009;18:325–330. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2009.032870. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Van Gerven E., Elst T.V., Vandenbroeck S., Dierickx S., Euwema M., Sermeus W., De Witte H., Godderis L., Vanhaecht K. Increased Risk of Burnout for Physicians and Nurses Involved in a Patient Safety Incident. Med. Care. 2016;54:937–943. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000582. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Van Gerven E., Elst T.V., Vandenbroeck S., Dierickx S., Euwema M., Sermeus W., De Witte H., Godderis L., Vanhaecht K. Increased Risk of Burnout for Physicians and Nurses Involved in a Patient Safety Incident. Med. Care. 2016;54:937–943. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000582. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Merandi J., Winning A.M., Liao N., Rogers E., Lewe D., Gerhardt C.A. Implementation of a Second Victim Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Interim Analysis of Employee Satisfaction. J. Patient Saf. Risk Manag. 2018;23:231–238. doi: 10.1177/2516043518809457. - DOI

[10] Merandi J., Winning A.M., Liao N., Rogers E., Lewe D., Gerhardt C.A. Implementation of a Second Victim Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Interim Analysis of Employee Satisfaction. J. Patient Saf. Risk Manag. 2018;23:231–238. doi: 10.1177/2516043518809457. - DOI

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An Evidence and Consensus-Based Definition of Second Victim: A Strategic Topic in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Person-Centeredness and Human Resource Management

Affiliations

An Evidence and Consensus-Based Definition of Second Victim: A Strategic Topic in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Person-Centeredness and Human Resource Management

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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References

Publication types

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LinkOut - more resources

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Medical