How do frequent users of crisis helplines differ from other users regarding their reasons for calling? Results from a survey with callers to Lifeline, Australia's national crisis helpline service

Abstract

Crisis helplines are designed to provide short-term support to people in an immediate crisis. However, there is a group of users who call crisis helplines frequently over an extended period of time. The reasons for their ongoing use remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the reasons for calling between frequent and other users of crisis helplines. This was achieved by examining the findings from a brief survey completed by callers to Lifeline Australia at the end of their call between February and July 2015. In the survey, callers reported on their socio-demographics, reasons for their current call and number of calls made in the past month. Survey respondents were categorised as frequent, episodic and one-off users, and analyses were conducted using ordered logistic regression. Three hundred and fifteen callers completed the survey, which represented 57% of eligible callers. Twenty-two per cent reported calling 20 times or more in the past month (frequent users), 51% reported calling between 2 and 19 times (episodic users) and 25% reported calling once (one-off users). Two per cent were unable to recall the number of calls they made in the past month. Frequent users reported similar reasons for calling as other users but they were more likely to call regularly to talk about their feelings [OR = 6.0; 95% CI: 3.7-9.8]. This pattern of service use is at odds with the current model of care offered by crisis helplines which is designed to provide one-off support. There is a need to investigate further the factors that drive frequent users to call crisis helplines regularly.

Data analytics of call log data to identify caller behaviour patterns from a mental health and well-being helpline

“…These studies also identified factors that drive frequent callers to call the service: positive reinforcement, social isolation of the caller, service maintaining anonymity of the caller and unrestricted access to the service. 6,7 Helplines Partnership identified a trend of increasing demand in UK helplines year on year. 5 Samaritans Ireland reported a 60 per cent increase in demand when they moved to a free phone number in 2014.…”

“…These studies also identified factors that drive frequent callers to call the service: positive reinforcement, social isolation of the caller, service maintaining anonymity of the caller and unrestricted access to the service. 6,7…”

Trans and Gender‐Diverse peoples’ experiences of crisis helpline services

“…These services are now an integral part of community crisis support services in Australia (Gould et al, 2012), and the role of these services has expanded beyond the provision of one-time interventions to encompass the facilitation of longer-term interventions-for instance, by connecting callers to traditional mental health services and/or emergency healthcare services (Middleton et al, 2017). Crisis helpline workers are trained to deliver interventions in a time-and information-limited context.…”

“…Extensive research points to the efficacy of these services in helping callers cope during a time of personal crisis (see: Assing-Hvidt et al, 2016;Dadfar & Lester, 2019;Dong et al, 2016;Kitchingman et al, 2015;Kitchingman et al, 2016). Furthermore, the experiences of specific groups have received considerable attention -among them: men , the elderly people (Chan et al, 2018), frequent callers (Middleton et al, 2017;Spittal et al, 2015) and helpline workers themselves Kitchingman et al, 2017aKitchingman et al, , 2017bSundram et al, 2018).…”

Crisis line services: A 12‐month descriptive analysis of callers, call content, and referrals

“…Despite such challenges, some research has successfully evaluated characteristics of frequent callers through unique data methods or follow up surveys. This research has identified that 2.6% to 22% of all calls are from frequent callers and has described common characteristics of frequent callers, such as calling about domestic violence and child protection, as well as having high-risk presentations (Middleton et al, 2017;O'Neill et al, 2019;Spittal et al, 2015).…”