Reaching out for Help: Calls to a Mental Health Helpline Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major health crisis associated with adverse mental health consequences. This study examined 2908 calls made to a national mental health helpline over a 10 month period, 2 months prior to (Pre-COVID) and 8 months during the pandemic phase, that incorporated the imposition of a partial lockdown, followed by the removal and reintroduction of restrictive measures locally. Data collected included reason/s for call assistance, gender, age and number of daily diagnosed cases and deaths due to COVID-19. In the Pre-COVID phase, calls for assistance were related to information needs and depression. With the imposition of a partial lockdown, coupled with the first local deaths and spikes in number of diagnosed cases, a significant increase in number of calls targeting mental health, medication management and physical and financial issues were identified. Following the removal of local restrictions, the number of calls decreased significantly; however, with the subsequent reintroduction of restrictions, coupled with the rise in cases and deaths, assistance requested significantly targeted informational needs. Hence, whilst calls in the initial phase of the pandemic mainly targeted mental health issues, over time this shifted towards information seeking requests, even within a context where the number of deaths and cases had significantly risen.

Life in a time of COVID: a mixed method study of the changes in lifestyle, mental and psychosocial health during and after lockdown in Western Australians

“…The delayed return of mental well-being to pre-COVID levels may not be surprising given the continued state of awareness of the disease around the world and some local restrictive measures that were still in place during the survey period. This observation is in keeping with analysis of calls to a mental health helpline both prior to, during (increased peak) and following full lockdown (heightened from pre-COVID period) [ 30 ].…”

“…Kessler-10 (K-10) is a global measure of psychological stress [ 21 ]. It is a 10-item questionnaire scored on a five-point Likert scale resulting in a cumulative score of 10 to 50 which are categorised as ‘Likely to be well’ [ 10 – 19 ], ‘Likely to have a mild mental disorder’ [ 20 – 24 ], ‘Likely to have a moderate mental disorder’ [ 25 – 29 ] and ‘Likely to have a several mental disorder’ [ 30 – 50 ]. The K-10 is a valid and reliable instrument for screening psychological distress at a population level [ 21 ].…”

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

“…Within the methodological constraints outlined above, these studies suggest that nearly two-thirds of contacts to helplines at the start of the pandemic were coming from females (25,26), although lower proportion of female callers were found in a study from India (13% females) (24) and higher proportions of females in the elderly (30) and younger populations (22) (85% and ∼75% respectively). In an Australian study of younger people, the increase in demand was also higher for females (5% monthly increase from January to August 2020) than for males (4% monthly increase from September 2019 to August 2020).…”

“…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). Internet searches for telehealth services worldwide also spiked in March 2020, but tailed off, albeit at a higher level, thereafter (27).…”

“…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)].…”