Dynamic observation and qualitative analysis of a psychological crisis hotline during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the chief complaints of psychological crisis hotlines during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Jiangsu, China, and to summarize the psychological characteristics of the public during the different stages of COVID-19.MethodsThe chief complaints of calls to the psychological crisis hotline from 27 January 2020 to 30 June 2020. A total of 578 calls were extracted and grouped using thematic analysis into categories. After statistical analysis, the monthly and three-period trends were observed dynamically to determine whether there were statistical differences in the proportion of specific chief complaints over the phases.ResultsThere were a total of 495 cases of psychological problems or physical discomfort, accounting for 85.64% of the total sample number of hotline calls related to the pandemic. The numbers of callers with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, illness anxiety, insomnia, and physical discomfort were 370 (64.01%), 103 (17.99%), 33 (5.71%), 36 (6.23%), 51 (8.82%), and 72 (12.46%), respectively, and 83 (14.36%) callers consulted other problems. The monthly main complaints showed a fluctuating trend, and each main complaint peaked at different stages. The main complaints during the three stages had distinct features, respectively, and the proportions of calls for the specific complaints differed statistically over the phases.ConclusionDynamic observation and qualitative analysis of psychological crisis hotline data might indicate dynamic changes and accordingly provide guidance for online crisis intervention when other public health crises occur.

Covid-19 hotlines, helplines and call centers: a systematic review of characteristics, challenges and lessons learned

“…The age range with the highest demand for the service was 30–44 years,50.6% were male, and 49.4% were female. 28 Ouyang et al, 2022 [ 45 ] China Analyzing the chief complaints of three psychological crisis hotlines during the Covid-19 pandemic in Jiangsu, China, and summarizing the psychological characteristics of the public during the different stages of Covid-19 Mixed-methods Psychological crisis hotline/ Public February 2020 until now/ 24/7 Providing professional psychological crisis intervention services to prevent psychological stress due to the epidemic Psychological issues The proportion of male callers (56.03%) was slightly higher than that of female callers during the Covid-19 outbreak period. Hotline callers were mainly young and middle-aged people (aged 19–45 years).…”

“…According to the finding, most of the studies aimed to describe a Covid-19 hotline/helpline/call center [ 17 , 20 , 29 , 31 , 40 , 44 , 49 , 52 , 56 , 58 – 65 , 69 ], analyze the calls [ 16 , 20 , 22 , 29 , 30 , 37 – 43 , 45 – 47 , 49 – 52 , 54 , 55 , 57 – 68 , 71 ] and the demographic characteristics of the callers [ 16 , 22 , 29 , 30 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 54 , 58 – 60 , 65 , 68 , 70 ], examine the callers’ feedback on the hotline/helpline/call center [ 30 , 31 , 36 – 38 , 52 , 59 , 60 , 62 , 69 , 70 ], and assess hotline/helpline/call center volunteers’ experiences [ 53 , 66 , 71 ].…”

“…About half of the hotlines/helplines/call centers ( n = 22) [ 29 – 31 , 37 , 41 – 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 54 – 56 , 60 – 62 , 64 , 65 , 70 , 71 ] were active seven days a week. The access time for other hotlines/helplines/call centers were different and included six days a week [ 48 ], five days a week [ 16 , 58 , 63 , 66 , 68 ], working days and Saturday [ 67 ], Monday to Wednesday [ 59 ], (seven days a week, then Monday to Saturday, then Monday to Friday) [ 20 ] and the access time was not reported in 12 articles [ 17 , 22 , 36 , 38 – 40 , 46 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 57 , 69 ].…”

“…About one third of the hotlines/helplines/call centers were active 24 h a day [ 29 , 30 , 37 , 41 – 45 , 47 , 51 , 54 – 56 , 61 , 70 ]. The rest of them were available 16 h a day from Monday to Friday, and 9 h a day on Saturday and Sunday [ 71 ],15.5 h a day [ 52 ], 14 h on working days and 7 h on Saturdays [ 67 ], 12 h a day [ 16 , 20 , 31 , 38 , 40 , 49 , 50 , 64 , 68 ], 9 h a day [ 62 , 63 , 65 ], 8 h a day [ 58 , 63 ], 6 h a day [ 55 , 60 ], 4 h a day [ 39 , 59 ], 3 h a day [ 66 ], and the number of hours were not reported in 8 studies [ 17 , 22 , 36 , 46 , 48 , 53 , 57 , 69 ].…”

“…The purposes of using hotlines/helplines/call centers could be categorized in providing psychological support [ 16 , 29 , 30 , 36 – 38 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 – 48 , 50 , 58 – 61 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 68 , 69 ], reliable information about Covid-19 [ 17 , 20 , 40 , 41 , 51 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 64 , 67 ], consultation [ 22 , 39 , 40 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 62 ], and triage services [ 31 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 55 , 70 , 71 ].…”