Validation of the German Version of the Moral Injury Symptom and Support Scale for Health Professionals (G-MISS-HP) and Its Correlation to the Second Victim Phenomenon.

INTRODUCTION: Comparable to second victim phenomenon (SVP), moral injury (MI) affects health professionals (HP) working in stressful environments. Information on how MI and SVP intercorrelate and their part in a psychological trauma complex is limited. We tested and validated a German version of the Moral Injury Symptom and Support Scale for Health Professionals (G-MISS-HP) instrument, screening for MI and correlated it with the recently developed German version of the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (G-SVESTR) instrument, testing for SVP. METHODS: After translating Moral Injury Symptom and Support Scale for Health Professionals (MISS-HP), we conducted a cross-sectional online survey providing G-MISS-HP and G-SVEST-R to HP. Statistics included Pearson's interitem correlation, reliability analysis, principal axis factoring and principal components analysis with Promax rotation, confirmatory factor and ROC analyses. RESULTS: A total of 244 persons responded, of whom 156 completed the survey (33% nurses, 16% physicians, 9% geriatric nurses, 7.1% speech and language therapists). Interitem and corrected item-scale correlations did not measure for one item sufficiently. It was, therefore, excluded from further analyses. The nine-item score revealed good reliability (Guttman's lambda 2 = 0.80; Cronbach's alpha = 0.79). Factor validity was demonstrated, indicating that a three-factor model from the original study might better represent the data compared with our two-factor model. Positive correlations between G-MISS-HP and G-SVESTR subscales demonstrated convergent validity. ROC revealed sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 63% for G-MISS-HP using a nine-item scale with cutoff value of 28.5 points. Positive and negative predictive values were 62% and 69%, respectively. Subgroup analyses did not reveal any differences. CONCLUSION: G-MISS-HP with nine items is a valid and reliable testing instrument for moral injury. However, strong intercorrelations of MI and SVP indicate the need for further research on the distinction of these phenomena.

Duke Scholars

Author Sneha Arun Mantri Neurology, Movement Disorders