Faculty
Wiesbaden Business School

The Kollegiale Hilfe (KoHi) project was launched at the Hietzing Clinic in Vienna in 2019. This project is a lighthouse project in the German-speaking world, as it is the first systematic peer support system for supporting colleagues at the Hietzing Clinic. The KoHi project is scientifically supported by the Wiesbaden Institute for Healthcare Economics and Patient Safety (WiHelP).

More specifically, it is about supporting colleagues who are affected by the second victim phenomenon (SVP) and are therefore emotionally or psychologically burdened. The second victim phenomenon describes the emotional or psychological state of emergency of medical staff after an unexpected incident in the course of patient care (e.g. unexpected death, incident involving patient injury or aggressive behavior by patients or relatives). The KoHi project was founded to counteract the effects of SVP and thus ensure high-quality care.

First, a survey of staff at the Hietzing Clinic was conducted for the project in order to find out the prevalence and symptom burden, as well as preferred support measures. In the next step, collegial helpers (KoHis) were trained to provide peer support on the one hand and to be able to refer those affected to professional networks for support if necessary on the other. The KoHis are offered supervision to ensure their safety. Around 100 KoHis now provide emotional first aid at Hietzing Hospital.

This lighthouse project has already received several awards.

If you have any further questions about the project, please contact Prof. Dr. Reinhard Strametz, who, as head of the WiHelP Institute, is in charge of providing scientific support for the project.

• Gatterer C, Krommer E, Abloescher M, Klemm V, Roesner H, Strametz R, Huf W, Ettl B (2023) Kollegiale Hilfe (KoHi) - Description of the intervention program to reduce the impact of stressful work situations in terms of the second-victim phenomenon among staff working close to patients in the Hietzing Clinic, Vienna, Austria (KoHi-II study). Zbl Arbeitsmed . https://doi.org/10.1007/s40664-023-00517-w
• Krommer E, Abloescher M, Klemm V, Gatterer C, Roesner H, Strametz R, Huf W, Ettl B. (2023) Second Victim Phenomenon in an Austrian Hospital before the Implementation of the Systematic Collegial Help Program KoHi: A Descriptive Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 20, 1913. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph2003191

• Karl Landsteiner Society, Vienna, Austria
• Hietzing Clinic (Vienna Health Association), Vienna, Austria

• Austrian Patient Safety Award 2021 - in the category "Employee Safety" by the ANetPAS (Austrian Network for Patient Safety)
• Vienna Health Award 2021 in the category "Healthy in facilities and organizations" by WiG (Vienna Health Promotion)
• 1st place - ONGKG Member Award 2021 (Austrian Network of Health-Promoting Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities)