Implementation Barriers of Peer Support for Nurses as Second Victims: A Qualitative Study from the Supporters'...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Support Systems
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, are susceptible to psychological distress after adverse events, becoming "second victims."
• Effective peer support is crucial for mitigating the negative impacts on these nurses.
• Existing support strategies often lack systematic implementation and face numerous obstacles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the challenges nurses encounter when providing peer support to "second victims."
• To identify barriers from the perspective of support providers.
• To inform the development of systematic peer support strategies for medical institutions.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study design.
• Semi-structured interviews with 14 nurses providing peer support to "second victims" in a tertiary hospital.
• Thematic analysis of interview data, guided by the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice theory.

Main Results:

• Identified three core themes: "Disconnection Between Conceptual Awareness and Personal Experience" (cognitive blind spots, role confusion), "The Triple Barrier to Peer Positive Support" (personal attribution bias, organizational culture constraints, systemic deficiencies), and "Fragmented practices of support measures" (timing discrepancies, content limitations, need for standardization).

Conclusions:

• Proposed a tiered approach for institutionalizing peer support: awareness training to bridge cognitive gaps, fostering cultural shifts to reduce fear of accountability, and implementing structured programs for sustained support.