ArticleBMJ quality & safety2014
Suffering in silence: a qualitative study of second victims of adverse events.
Article in BMJ quality & safety, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 333 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of patient safety incident reporting practices in maternity care.BMJ open quality · 2025Pooled it
- The trajectory of patient safety culture: a comparative analysis of Iranian healthcare workers' perspectives during and post-COVID-19 pandemic.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- The Symptoms and Impacts Experienced by Healthcare Professionals as Second Victims After a Safety Incident: A Scoping Review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Enhancing healthcare workers' safety and well-being through a comprehensive qualitative analysis across hospital settings.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Repercussions of the second victim phenomenon on health care workers: Scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding support following adverse events in three public hospitals in Gauteng: two sides of the coin.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- The relationship between professional moral courage and patient safety silence among nurses.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Registered nurses' emotional responses to medication errors and perceived need for support: A qualitative descriptive analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Impact of second victim distress on healthcare professionals' intent to leave, absenteeism and resilience: A mediation model of organizational support.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Assessing safety culture and second victim experience following adverse events among Romanian nurses: a cross-sectional study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Using an e-Delphi consensus technique to develop the Stressful Adverse Veterinary Events Support (SAVES) Framework.PloS one · 2025Article
- Let's talk about complications.Surgical neurology international · 2025Article
- Understanding the Second Victim Phenomenon Among Healthcare Workers in an Italian Hospital.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2024Article
- Moving Away from the Blame Culture: The Way Forward to Manage Medical Errors.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2024Review
- Employer support for health and social care registered professionals, their patients and service users involved in regulatory fitness to practise regulatory proceedings.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Second Victims Among Austrian Nurses (SeViD-A2 Study).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Restorative Just Culture: An Exploration of the Enabling Conditions for Successful Implementation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Application and Evaluation of a Multimodal Training on the Second Victim Phenomenon at the European Researchers' Network Working on Second Victims Training School: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- The psychological burden of major surgical complications in visceral surgery.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Article
- Surgeon and Surgical Trainee Experiences After Adverse Patient Events.JAMA network open · 2024Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe term 'second victim' refers to the healthcare professional who experiences emotional distress following an adverse event. This distress has been shown to be similar to that of the patient-the 'first victim'. The aim of this study was to investigate how healthcare professionals are affected by their involvement in adverse events with emphasis on the organisational support they need and how well the organisation meets those needs.
methods21 healthcare professionals at a Swedish university hospital who each had experienced an adverse event were interviewed. Data from semi-structured interviews were analysed by qualitative content analysis using QSR NVivo software for coding and categorisation.
resultsOur findings confirm earlier studies showing that emotional distress, often long-lasting, follows from adverse events. In addition, we report that the impact on the healthcare professional was related to the organisation's response to the event. Most informants lacked organisational support or they received support that was unstructured and unsystematic. Further, the formal investigation seldom provided adequate and timely feedback to those involved. The insufficient support and lack of feedback made it more difficult to emotionally process the event and reach closure. DISCUSSION: This article addresses the gap between the second victim's need for organisational support and the organisational support provided. It also highlights the need for more transparency in the investigation of adverse events. Future research should address how advanced support structures can meet these needs and provide learning opportunities for the organisation. These issues are central for all hospital managers and policy makers who wish to prevent and manage adverse events and to promote a positive safety culture.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.