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 (), Deborah Seys, Sophia Russotto, Reinhard Strametz, José Mira, Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdóttir, Albert W. Wu, Kaja Põlluste, Daniela Georgeta Popovici, Raluca Sfetcu, Sule Kurt and Massimiliano Panella
Additional contact information
Kris Vanhaecht: Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Deborah Seys: Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Sophia Russotto: Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy
Reinhard Strametz: Wiesbaden Business School, RheinMain University of Applied Science, 65183 Wiesbaden, Germany
José Mira: The Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region, 03550 Alicante, Spain
Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdóttir: Department of Political Science, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
Albert W. Wu: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, ML 21205, USA
Kaja Põlluste: Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406 Tartu, Estonia
Daniela Georgeta Popovici: National Institute of Health Services Management, 021253 Bucharest, Romania
Raluca Sfetcu: National Institute of Health Services Management, 021253 Bucharest, Romania
Sule Kurt: Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Massimiliano Panella: Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-10

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: patient safety; healthcare professionals; second victim; healthcare quality; person-centeredness; human resource management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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