Background <p>Global efforts are being made to develop support programs and strategies for second victims of patient safety incident to alleviate the painful experience of health care workers involved. However, the second victims may be influenced by a variety of factors in the process of actively seeking support. This study aims to identify and explore barriers and facilitators for second victims to seek support from a nurse’s perspective.</p> Methods <p>Nurses who had experienced a patient safety incident in a tertiary hospital were recruited. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted from May to October 2024 using the interview outline developed by the theoretical domain framework, and the data were analyzed using the inductive content analysis method.</p> Results <p>Based on the interview data, a total of 5 categories and 13 sub-categories were extracted. The barriers for second victims to seek support included personal factors, managerial role conflicts, and organizational support dilemmas. The facilitating factors included easily accessible support systems and need for diverse support.</p> Conclusion <p>The barriers to support-seeking among second victims are multifaceted. Therefore, relevant authorities should implement comprehensive interventions, prioritize attention to nurses’ support-seeking behaviors as second victims, and address obstacles in the support-seeking process to facilitate desired behavioral changes.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>