Economic Value of Peer Support Program in German Hospitals.

Objectives: Acknowledging peer support as the cornerstone in mitigating the psychosocial burden arising from the second victim phenomenon, this study assesses the economic benefits of a Peer Support Program (PSP), compared to data of the Resilience In Stressful Events (RISE) program in the US, within the acute inpatient care sector in Germany. Methods: Employing a Markov model, this economic evaluation analyzes the cost benefits, including sick day and dropout costs, over a 1-year period, comparing scenarios with and without the Peer Support Program from a hospital perspective. The costs were calculated as an example based on a hospital with 1,000 employees. The estimations are considered conservative. Results: The anticipated outcomes demonstrate an average cost saving of €6,672 per healthcare worker participating in the Peer Support Program, leading to an annual budgetary impact of approximately €6,67 Mio. for the studied hospital. Conclusion: The integration of a PSP proves economically advantageous for German hospitals, not only preserving financial resources but also reducing absenteeism, and mitigating turnover, thereby enhancing overall patient care.

Prevalence, risk factors and psychological consequences of workplace violence among health workers in the Greater Accra region, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, close to one-third of all workplace violence (WV) occurs in the health sector. Exposure to WV among healthcare professionals in Ghana has been widely speculated, but there is limited evidence on the problem. This study therefore investigated WV, its risk factors, and the psychological consequences experienced by health workers in Ghana. METHODS: An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in the Greater Accra region from January 30 to May 31, 2023, involving selected health facilities. The participants for the study were selected using a simple random sampling technique based on probability proportional-to-size. The data analyses were performed using STATA 15 software. Logistic regression analyses were employed to identify the factors associated with WV, considering a significance level of p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: The study was conducted among 607 healthcare providers and support personnel across 10 public and private hospitals. The lifetime career, and one-year exposure to any form of WV was 414 (68.2%) [95% CI: (64.3-71.9%)] and 363 (59.8%) [95% CI: (55.8-63.7%)], respectively. Compared to other forms of WV, the majority of healthcare workers, 324 (53.4%) experienced verbal abuse within the past year, and a greater proportion, 85 (26.2%) became 'super alert' or vigilant and watchful following incidents of verbal abuse. Factors significantly linked to experiencing any form of WV in the previous 12 months were identified as follows: older age [AOR = 1.11 (1.06, 1.17)], working experience [AOR = 0.91 (0.86, 0.96)], having on-call responsibilities [AOR = 1.75 (1.17, 2.61)], and feeling adequately secure within health facility [AOR = 0.45 (0.26, 0.76)]. CONCLUSION: There was high occurrence of WV, and verbal abuse was the most experienced form of WV. Age, work experience, on-call duties, and security within workplace were associated with exposure to WV. Facility-based interventions are urgently needed to curb the incidence of WV, especially verbal abuse.

[The second victim phenomenon-What personnel in anesthesiology should know about it]. / Das Second-Victim-Phänomen ­ Was anästhesiologisches Fachpersonal darüber wissen sollte.

Adverse events can occur at any time during medical treatment of patients. These adverse events not only negatively impact patients but also the medical personnel involved. The impairment of medical personnel after an adverse event is known as the second victim phenomenon (SVP). Although the concept of second victims is relatively unknown, the chances to become a second victim during the course of one's professional carrier are high. Effective measures to support second victims are peer support programs within medical institutions, which also benefit economically from the implementation of these programs. Supporting second victims is also beneficial to future patients and finally healthcare systems as a whole.

Emotional Responses and Support Needs of Healthcare Professionals after Adverse or Traumatic Experiences in Healthcare-Evidence from Seminars on Peer Support.

The aim of this study was to identify (i) emotions experienced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) after adverse or traumatic events and (ii) needs for support after adverse or traumatic events. Data for this qualitative, descriptive study were collected at 27 seminars for 198 HCPs introducing a peer-support programme after adverse or traumatic events (The Buddy Study). Through interactive exercises, participants shared their experiences, and this study reports on the responses of an exercise identifying emotions and needs after an adverse or traumatic event. The top five emotions were anger, guilt, impotence, grief, and frustration and anxiety, and the top five needs were to be met with understanding, recognition, listening, care, and respect. Ten categories of emotions experienced by HCPs after adverse or traumatic events were constructed, and the five categories with the highest number of mentions were anger and impotence, fear and insecurity, negative self-evaluation, guilt and shame, and alone and overloaded. Nine categories relating to needs for support after adverse or traumatic events were constructed, and the five categories with the highest number of mentions were: being seen and understood, compassion, being respected, time to recover, and organisational support. The emotional disclosure promoted at the peer seminars of the Buddy Study revealed that all participants share the same emotional distress, being either second victims or potential second victims. Moreover, the support needed was of a human-to-human nature that all participants felt capable of providing as a "buddy" for a colleague. Both the identified emotions and needs for support identified in this study may contribute to qualifying the development of the content of support programmes for HCPs after traumatic or adverse events.

Calling for Help-Peer-Based Psychosocial Support for Medical Staff by Telephone-A Best Practice Example from Germany.

BACKGROUND: A telephone support hotline (PSU-HELPLINE) was established at the beginning of the pandemic due to the burden on health professionals and the lack of support at the workplace. The aim of this study was to evaluate the telephone support service for health professionals in terms of its burden, benefits, and mechanisms of action. METHODS: Data collection was conducted during and after calls by PSU-HELPLINE counsellors. In addition to the socio-demographic data evaluation, burdens of the callers and the benefits of the calls were collected. The content-analytical evaluation of the stresses as well as the effect factors were based on Mayring's (2022). RESULTS: Most of the callers were highly to very highly stressed. The usefulness of the conversation was rated as strong to very strong by both callers and counsellors. The PSU-HELPLINE was used primarily for processing serious events and in phases of overload. The support work was carried out through the following aspects of so-called effect factors, among others: psychoeducation, change of perspective, resource activation, problem actualization, connectedness, information, problem solving, self-efficacy, and preservation of resources. CONCLUSIONS: The expansion of local peer support structures and the possibility of a telephone helpline are recommended. Further research is needed.

Offering general pediatric care during the hard times of the 2014 Ebola outbreak: looking back at how many came and how well they fared at a Médecins Sans Frontières referral hospital in rural Sierra Leone.

BACKGROUND: In Bo district, rural Sierra Leone, we assessed the burden of the 2014 Ebola outbreak on under-five consultations at a primary health center and the quality of care for under-15 children at a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) referral hospital. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study, comparing a period before (May-October 2013) and during the same period of the Ebola outbreak (2014). Health worker infections occurred at the outbreak peak (October 2014), resulting in hospital closure due to fear of occupational-risk of contracting Ebola. Standardized hospital exit outcomes and case fatality were used to assess quality of care until closure. RESULTS: A total of 13,658 children under-five, were seen at the primary health center during 2013 compared to 8761 in 2014; a consultation decline of 36%. Of 6497 children seen in the hospital emergency room, during the outbreak, patients coming from within hospital catchment area declined with 38% and there were significantly more self-referrals (80% vs. 61%, P < 0.001). During Ebola, 23 children were dead on arrival and the proportion of children in severe clinical status (requiring urgent attention) was higher (74% during Ebola vs. 65% before, P < 0.001). Of 5,223 children with available hospital outcomes, unfavorable outcomes (combination of deaths and abandoned) were less than 15% during both periods, which is within the maximum acceptable in-house threshold set by MSF. Case fatality for severe malaria and lower respiratory tract infections (n = 3752) were similar (≤15%). CONCLUSIONS: Valuable and good quality pediatric care was being provided in the pediatric hospital during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but could not be sustained because of hospital closure. Health facility and health worker safety should be tackled as a universal requirement to try to avoid a déjà-vu.