Second victim phenomenon: comparison of emergency medical technicians and dispatchers in Germany

Background

Second Victims (SVs) are healthcare workers negatively affected by adverse events, impacting staff well-being, patient safety, and healthcare systems. The Second Victim Phenomenon (SVP) has been studied in Germany using the SeViD-questionnaire. Emergency medical personnel differ in work context: EMTs provide on-site care, while EMDs rely on auditory information without scene presence. This study compares SVP experiences between these groups.

Methods

Cross-sectional data collection was carried out between April and August 2023 using the SeViD-questionnaire, investigating the SVP among EMDs and EMTs in Germany. Differences between EMTs and EMDs were investigated utilizing Chi²-tests for categorical and Mann-Whitney-U-tests for ordinal variables. To reduce family-wise error rates, Holm-Bonferroni correction was employed. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

Though EMDs are significantly less familiar with the concept of SVP than EMTs (χ²(1) = 6.26, p = .012, V = .09), they are just as affected by it. Moreover, EMDs are more likely to experience multiple SVP incidences than EMTs (χ²(2) = 14.29, p < 0.001, V = .13). EMTs were more likely to receive support (χ²(2) = 62.49, p < 0.001, V = .34) and needed longer to recover (χ²(5) = 25.43, p < 0.001, V = .22). Furthermore, EMTs were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely to experience social isolation (r = 0.14) or relive the incidence outside their professional lives (r = 0.17). Regarding support measures EMDs rated clear communication, informal support and structured debriefing processes as more helpful than EMTs (p < 0.05, r = 0.11-0.25).

Conclusions

SVP affects both groups but with distinct patterns. Public health action should focus on increasing SVP awareness, particularly among EMDs, and implementing tailored, role-specific support measures such as structured debriefings and accessible peer support to strengthen workforce resilience and patient safety.

Key messages

• EMDs are as affected by SVP as EMTs but less aware and more often experience repeated events, indicating unmet support needs.

• Tailored, role-specific support and increased SVP awareness are needed to improve staff well-being and patient safety.