Your Call Is Important to Us: COVID-19 and Trends in Public Health Unit Call Service Utilization

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Analyze COVID-19 related call data at Metro North Public Health Unit, Brisbane Australia, over the 2020 calendar year to assist surge preparedness. METHODS Call data was retrieved by call category or reference to ‘COVID’ in summaries from the call management system at a large metropolitan public health service. Under a mixed-methods approach, qualitative data (caller, call purpose, and call outcome) was categorized with categories arising de novo. Resulting variables were numerically analyzed to identify trends by categories and time. RESULTS Of the 3,468 calls retrieved, 160 duplicates and 26 irrelevant calls were excluded. Of 3,282 included calls, General Practitioners, followed by the public, contributed the greatest call volumes. Healthcare-related callers and the public made 84.2% of calls. Calls most frequently related to patient testing (40.7%) and isolation/quarantine (23.2%). Education provision accounted for 29.4% of all outcomes. 11.8% of all call outcomes involved applying relevant case definitions. 49.1% of calls were identified as potentially preventable through effective ERC and targeted call-handling. CONCLUSIONS This study identified key drivers of public health unit phone service utilization related to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020. The results highlighted where risk perception influenced call volume and provided important insights for future public health preparedness.