Presence and detectability of the second victim phenomenon in German-speaking medical professionals involved in dysphagia and respiratory therapy: cross-sectional survey research (SeViD-V)

BACKGROUND: Second victim effects refer to experiences of severe adverse events and errors in healthcare that have a negative impact on healthcare professionals. Speech and language pathologists and respiratory therapists are involved in treating patients with dysphagia in intensive care and stroke units and are thus exposed to possible severe incidents related to choking, aspiration, resuscitation, palliative care, and death. Evidence of the detectability of the second victim phenomenon in this professional group remains limited-a gap addressed in this study. METHODS: Using convenience sampling, an online questionnaire was distributed among medical professionals involved in dysphagia therapy in German-speaking countries. Questionnaire components included screening tools and psychometric instruments. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and content analysis of free-text entries. RESULTS: Ninety-one of 127 speech and language pathologists and respiratory therapists (71,65%) reported having experienced a second victim phenomenon at least once in their lives. Twelve participants reported having experienced it for more than one year. Nine participants who denied having experienced a second victim effect initially described symptoms in line with the consensus-based definition later in the free-text entries. Qualitative analysis revealed new coping strategies, including support from first victims and educating others. CONCLUSION: Overall, second victim effects were detected among speech and language pathologists and respiratory therapists in German-speaking countries. The high prevalence and incidence rates found in this study are comparable to those reported in other studies on second victims in Germany. A newly identified dimension is the role of "silent victims," including those who do not remember or deny being affected indicating the high demand for institutional prevention, support programs, and refinement of tools for optimized detectability. There is a need to improve the accuracy of second victim screening tools to avoid false-negatives of identifying second victims.