The Poison Center as a pandemic response: establishment and characteristics of a COVID-19 hotline through the New Jersey Poison Center

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

“…Most common reasons for calling were related to scheduling (92%) and radiology operations (6%). 20 Meaden et al, 2021 [ 56 ] USA Describing the operation of the coronavirus hotline at the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) through October 2020 Mixed-methods New Jersey Coronavirus Hotline/ Public January 2020 until now/ 24/7 Answering questions regarding the Coronavirus Covid-19 queries Public and healthcare providers made up 90% and 5.5% of callers. Most calls (68.7%) were regarding testing for Covid-19 and for general questions/symptoms.…”

“…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 ].…”

“…Callers were the public [ 16 , 17 , 22 , 29 – 31 , 36 – 42 , 44 – 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 – 60 , 64 , 66 – 69 ], health workers [ 43 , 69 , 71 ], rural populations [ 53 ], hospital workers [ 61 ], health care providers, GPs, nurses and pharmacists [ 20 , 62 ], nursing home staff [ 57 ], NHS trust staff [ 63 ], patients [ 20 , 55 , 58 , 69 ], patients’ families [ 69 ], and older adults [ 65 ]. (Fig.…”