Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Health Management and Economics Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, No. 4, Rashid Yasemi St, Vali-Asr St, Tehran, 1996713883, Iran.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Apr 28;24(1):1191. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18702-8.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of hotlines/helplines/call centers was implemented to provide remote services and support public health. The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics, challenges and lessons learned of implementing Covid-19 hotlines/helplines/call centers during the pandemic.
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, IEEE Xplore, and ProQuest databases as well as Google Scholar were searched between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2023 to retrieve relevant articles published in English. The quality and risk of bias of the studies were assessed using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS), the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Checklist.
In total, 43 out of 1440 articles were included in this study. About half of the hotlines/helplines/call centers were launched in March 2020 (n = 19). Providing psychological support (n = 23), reliable information about Covid-19 (n = 10), healthcare advices about Covid-19 (n = 8), and triage (n = 7) were the most common purposes of implementing these services. The most common challenges included a lack of physical examination, unavailability of hotlines/helplines/call centers at the point of need, and delay in updating Covid-19 information. The most common lessons learned were employing qualified staff, providing proper training, and getting feedback from the callers and operators.
According to the results, most of the Covid-19 hotlines/helplines/call centers were launched in the early months of the pandemic, and about half of them were active seven days a week. Most of the operators were mental health providers and clinicians. The findings show the importance of continuous psychological support during crises, particularly when adequate information about the situation is not available. The challenges experienced by the callers and operators as well as the lessons learned by the service providers also need to be considered for future crises to increase the effectiveness of similar services.
在新冠疫情期间，设立了许多热线/援助热线/呼叫中心，以提供远程服务和支持公共卫生。本研究的目的是调查在疫情期间实施新冠热线/援助热线/呼叫中心的特点、挑战和经验教训。
检索 2020 年 1 月 1 日至 2023 年 12 月 31 日期间发表的英文文章，使用 PubMed、Web of Science、Scopus、Cochrane 图书馆、IEEE Xplore 和 ProQuest 数据库以及 Google Scholar。使用横断面研究评估工具（AXIS）、混合方法评估工具（MMAT）和批判性评估技能计划（CASP）检查表评估研究的质量和偏倚风险。
共纳入 1440 篇文章中的 43 篇。大约一半的热线/援助热线/呼叫中心于 2020 年 3 月启动（n=19）。提供心理支持（n=23）、有关新冠的可靠信息（n=10）、有关新冠的医疗保健建议（n=8）和分诊（n=7）是实施这些服务的最常见目的。最常见的挑战包括缺乏体格检查、在需要时无法使用热线/援助热线/呼叫中心以及更新新冠信息的延迟。最常见的经验教训是雇用合格的员工、提供适当的培训以及从来电者和运营商那里获得反馈。
根据研究结果，大多数新冠热线/援助热线/呼叫中心在疫情早期推出，其中约一半每周 7 天运行。大多数运营商是心理健康提供者和临床医生。研究结果表明，在危机期间，特别是在没有足够的情况信息时，持续提供心理支持非常重要。来电者和运营商所面临的挑战以及服务提供商的经验教训也需要为未来的危机考虑，以提高类似服务的效果。
