The current status of nurses' psychological experience as second victims in restoring the event after a patient safety incident in China: a mixed study

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: The objective of this study is to gain insight into the psychological experience and present condition of nurses who serve as second victims in the process of restoring the sequence of events. Additionally, this research aims to investigate the effects of restoring the sequence of events on these second victims, and to propose recommendations and justifications for supporting them. Methods: An exploratory mixed research method was adopted to understand the emotional experience of the second victim when restoring the passage of the incident through qualitative research, and 14 nurses with the experience of the second victim were selected for semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling according to the maximum difference sampling strategy. Through quantitative research, we explored the negative psychology and support needs of the second victims when they revert to the incident, and a self-developed questionnaire was used to survey 3,394 nurses with experiences of the second victims in 11 tertiary hospitals in Shanxi Province. Results: In the qualitative part of the study, the emotional experience of the second victim's reversionary event passage after a patient safety incident could be categorized into 3 themes: negative psychological experience, simplification/glorification of the event passage, and expectation and growth. In the quantitative part of the study, guilt and self-blame accounted for the highest percentage of negative emotions after a patient safety incident, 63.20% of the nurses believed that the reduction of the incident passage led to the exacerbation of negative psychology, and shame was the most common negative emotion resulting from the reduction of the incident passage. Conclusion: Following a patient safety incident, nursing administrators and institutions should consider the adverse psychological impact on the second victim, prioritize the second victim's needs and skills during the incident's restoration, create a positive safety culture, and reduce the likelihood of secondary victimization of second victims due to mismanagement.