The Impact of Legislative Changes on the Number of Calls to the Romanian Covid 19 Telverde Helpline

Abstract

On 24th of February 2020, the Ministry of Health in Romania announced the operationalization of the Green Line, known as Telverde, within the National Institute of Public Health, in order to provide citizens with information related to the prevention of Sars-Cov-2 infection. The number of registered calls increased considerably at the time of the declaration of the pandemic, the beginning and the cessation of the state of emergency and during the issuance of military ordinances. Different key periods were studied and compared so that we could determine if the major administrative and legislative events have influenced the number of registered calls. Our findings sustained the supposition that the major events that took place during this period have indeed influenced the number of telephone calls made to TelVerde helpline.

The Use of Helplines and Telehealth Support in Aotearoa/New Zealand During COVID-19 Pandemic Control Measures: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…Further spikes in contacts coincided with national and regional lockdowns and the introduction of a new helpline in mid 2020. Our findings are consistent with international studies showing helpline service demand increased following lockdowns or spikes in infection rates (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), followed by decreased demand (22)(23)(24)26). Moreover, although there was a gradual 0.5% decline in contacts after the first national lockdown, and we have seen some peaks and troughs during regional lockdowns, the overall demand stabilised at a new, higher level with an overall upward trend.…”

“…This indication of a new higher level of demand based on longitudinal data is a novel finding, although the gradual increase in demand throughout the study period did not reach significance levels. We note that the increases and decreases in demand were more consistent with observations in Australia (∼8% and 3% respectively) (22) and not the observations from the United States or Romania (∼50% increase) (23,25), albeit the Australian data was youth-related. Notably, it is important to acknowledge that qualitative data has shown that contacts to helplines had been already increasing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic control measures, similar to observations by the longitudinal Australian study (22).…”

“…International reports suggest that in the early COVID-19 pandemic period, helpline and telehealth service demand increased particularly following lockdowns or spikes in infection rates (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), often followed by decreased demand (22)(23)(24)26). During the first months of the pandemic (January to April 2020), some countries experienced much higher increases in demand [44% in Romania (23), 50% in the United States (25)] than others [∼8% in Australia for Kids Helpline (22)].…”

“…International reports suggest that in the early COVID-19 pandemic period, helpline and telehealth service demand increased particularly following lockdowns or spikes in infection rates (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), often followed by decreased demand (22)(23)(24)26). During the first months of the pandemic (January to April 2020), some countries experienced much higher increases in demand [44% in Romania (23), 50% in the United States (25)] than others [∼8% in Australia for Kids Helpline (22)]. Decreased demand was observed when COVID-19 cases stabilized and pandemic control measures relaxed, but also ranged ∼3% reduction in demand for Kids helpline in Australia (22) to 24% reduction in demand for a general national mental health helpline in Romania (23).…”

“…During the first months of the pandemic (January to April 2020), some countries experienced much higher increases in demand [44% in Romania (23), 50% in the United States (25)] than others [∼8% in Australia for Kids Helpline (22)]. Decreased demand was observed when COVID-19 cases stabilized and pandemic control measures relaxed, but also ranged ∼3% reduction in demand for Kids helpline in Australia (22) to 24% reduction in demand for a general national mental health helpline in Romania (23). More modest fluctuations were seen during the second wave of COVID-19 infections (26).…”