How deep is a problem of second victims for medical staff? A pilot study in Croatia

Abstract

Adverse events lead to the emergence of several groups of victims, among which the second victims are medical staff involved in them. The suffering of second victims can lead to new adverse events and new victims. This study describes the cycle of an adverse event and its victims. Using the example of the largest Croatian hospital centre, authors try to understand how deep medical staff experience adverse events, and how different groups of medical staff (by profession, gender, qualification, and position) perceive adverse events. With the help of a special survey using the Bonferroni method from ANOVA, it was established that males feel more mental stress after adverse events than females. The results indicate that medical staff of different professions perceive adverse events differently, e.g. they are the least painful for psychiatrists and microbiologists and the most stressing for emergency and intensive care workers. In addition, nurses are more vulnerable to adverse events and experience various types of mental disorders more deeply than doctors. However, qualifications do not seem to affect the extent to which medical staff perceive adverse events. The results of this study differ from previous data for other countries and suggest new implications.

Empowering Second Victims: Supporting Healthcare Professionals after Adverse Health Events

“…After an adverse event, the prevalence of second victims varied from 10.4% up to 43.3%.9. (Goncharuk 2023).Research has shown that almost half of HCPs experience the impact as an SV at least one time in their career Ozeke (2019). Indeed, there are always SVs, when there is a serious patient adverse event, but mostly silent because of the fear of litigation and the absence of a welldefined reporting system (Edrees 2011).…”

Making a career in patient safety: How I got hooked

“…Goncharuk et al 8 studied the problem of second victims in Croatia. They expressed the need for active medical workers trained in supporting clinicians after adverse events.…”