The Impacts of Second Victim Experiences on Nurses' Absenteeism and Intention to Leave: A Multi‐Site Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Aim Adverse events impact patients as primary victims including their families, while healthcare providers are impacted as second victims. These incidents have serious psychological and physical impacts on healthcare providers' quality of life and their ability to execute their jobs. As no studies have been conducted in the Middle East to explore the experiences of second victims among nurses, this study examined the relationship between nurses' second victim experiences, turnover and absenteeism. Design Descriptive, correlational, cross‐sectional study. Methods A convenience sample of 117 nurses was recruited from secondary‐ and tertiary‐level hospitals across 13 regions in Saudi Arabia. The Second Victim Experience and Support Tool was used to assess second victim experiences and their impact on turnover and absenteeism. Results Second victim trauma affected over half of the participants. ‘The mental weight of my experience is exhausting’ and ‘My colleagues can be indifferent to the impact these situations have had on me’ obtained the highest mean scores. Healthcare providers who stated that these situations had improved their quality of care were found to have the lowest scores. Second victim experiences had significant relationships with turnover and absenteeism. Further, healthcare providers' length of experience did not affect absenteeism, while second victim experiences significantly predicted absenteeism. Additionally, a strong relationship was observed between turnover and absenteeism. Overall, those with a second victim experience had a greater turnover intention. Conclusions The results underscore the physical and psychological distress that healthcare providers endure, increasing the likelihood of them leaving the profession. These problems are worsened by inadequate institutional support, emphasising the need for efforts to stabilise second victims and avoid unfavourable organisational outcomes. Reporting Method The study adheres to the STROBE reporting guidelines. Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contribution.