The second victim phenomenon in Latin America: a scoping review

Objective: to map the existing evidence on the phenomenon of
second victims in Latin American countries. Method: an exploratory
review was carried out according to guidelines from the Joanna
Briggs Institute, including studies on the second victim phenomenon
among health personnel and health students in Latin America. The
search was performed on the Scopus, PubMed, Ebsco, ProQuest,
Journal Storage, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar databases.
Quantitative, qualitative, mixed, editorial, and case reports published
between 2014 and 2025 in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, were
considered. Results: 25 studies were included, most of them
conducted in Brazil (52.0%), which focused on a range of healthcare
professionals and students. The main psychological consequences
included guilt, recurrent thoughts and sleep disturbances. The lack of
studies on structured support programs in Latin America is a highlight.
Conclusion: the second victim phenomenon is frequent in Latin
America, predominantly impacting psychological aspects on health
personnel. Lack of regional interventions underscore the need for
specific support programs, highligthing the importance of coping
strategies and institutional support to strengthen patient well-being,
retention, and safety culture.