Table 2 Characteristics of Covid-19 hotlines/helplines/call centers in the selected studies

1

Bric and Raile, 2020 [60]

Social networks, the outpatient clinics website, TV

146 calls during 11 weeks (21 March-31 May 2020)

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization (Psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic of the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna)

There is an evaluation link at the clinic’s homepage for the callers. Feedback from the patients were positive.

2

Carson et al., 2020 [53]

Not reported

Not reported

Medical students

Healthcare organization

(The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine)

After 3 months of hotline implementation, students were asked to complete an anonymous retrospective survey to assess program outcomes and their experiences.

Covid-19 hotline improved students’ comfort levels in all areas, with significant changes noted for answering questions, screening, and triaging patients.

3

Geoffroy et al., 2020 [61]

Emails, posters, newsletters, Twitter, Facebook

A mean of 5.73 calls/day

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization (Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris)

Not reported

4

Joshi et al., 2020 [36]

Not reported

Each counsellor handled around 70–100 calls per month

Mental health professionals

Other organizations (School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social sciences, India)

Not reported

5

Kristal et al., 2020 [17]

Mayor’s press conferences, City Hall’s Covid-19 text message alerts

More than twenty-five hundred calls per day by mid-March 2020

Nurses, physicians

Healthcare organization

(New York City Health + Hospitals)

Not reported

6

Kumar et al., 2020 [62]

Communication bulletins, social media

A total of 310 calls were received in the first 35 days of setting up

Respiratory clinicians (respiratory consultants and a respiratory specialty trainee)

Healthcare organization

(Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

Feedback on the effectiveness of the advice line was collected from general practitioners who used the service, and they were satisfied with the service (mean score of 9.3/10).

7

Margolius et al., 2020 [54]

Not reported

10,112 patients called the hotline during 5 weeks

Nurses, physicians

Healthcare organization

(MetroHealth, health care system in Cuyahoga County in Northeast Ohio)

Not reported

8

Matthewson et al., 2020 [63]

Trust intranet page, email

655 calls were received within the first 4 weeks of implementing the telephone support service

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(National Health Service (NHS) occupational health services (OHS))

Informal positive feedback was received from managers.

Mean waiting time for callers to be put through to a call handler was 28 s indicating quick response times. Initial informal feedback suggested that access to clear, timely information was useful to staff in a healthcare setting.

9

Pelicon et al., 2020 [64]

Press conferences, media outlets, Internet

More than 40 thousand calls received in its first ten weeks.

Medical students, integrated professionals

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia in cooperation with the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Illnesses of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, the National Institute of Public Health, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Administration.)

Not reported

10

Ravindran et al., 2020 [37]

Not reported

20,475 calls answered in the first month (April 2020).

Mental health professionals

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS))

Getting preliminary feedback from the callers.

Over 90% of the callers were satisfied with the provision of the service.

11

Shao et al., 2020 [44]

Website, WeChat public account, news, media

59,495 telephone hotline conversations between January 23, 2020, and March 15, 2020.

Nurses, physicians

Healthcare organization

(Taizhou Hospital and Enze Hospital)

Not reported

12

Abdelghaffar et al., 2021 [69]

Displaying posters all over the hospital in all departments, social media, the official website of the Hospital

Not reported

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(Mongi Slim hospital in the Tunis)

There was widespread positive feedback from patients and professionals concerning the services.

13

Abdullah et al., 2021 [29]

Not reported

Not reported

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(The Department of Psychiatry at Westchester Medical Center Health Network in Valhalla, New York)

Not reported

14

Cheng et al., 2021 [31]

Not reported

More than 5825 calls were between March 30 and June 1, 2020.

Nurses, medical students

Healthcare organization

(Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU))

86% of patients reported that their questions were answered during the call, and 90% said they would recommend this service to a friend or family member.

15

Cher et al., 2021 [55]

Not reported

An average of 91 calls per day

Nurses, medical assistants, patient service representatives, medical students

Healthcare organization

(Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center affiliated with the University of Michigan)

Not reported

16

Du et al., 2021 [30]

Internet, media, and radio stations, text messages (online official social account, and broadcasting)

A mean of 37.10 calls per day

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(Mental health center of the city, the fourth people’s hospital of Chengdu)

The effectiveness of the hotline was evaluated through verbal feedback from the callers. A total of 95.0% agreed that the hotline helped them overall.

17

Hazarika et al., 2021 [38]

Assam Police website, local print media, social networking sites

Not reported

Mental health professionals

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Police Department of the Government of Assam in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry, Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH))

Most of the callers were satisfied (49.8%) and appreciated (42.3%) the service.

18

Iqbal et al., 2021 [50]

Not reported

201 calls in the first month of operation.

Not reported

Healthcare organization

(Between three well-established mental health service providers (Brac Institute of Educational Development, Psychological Health and Wellness Clinic (PHWC) and Kaan Pete Roi)

Not reported

19

Jang et al., 2021 [20]

Not reported

A total of 2548 calls over 7 weeks.

Radiology technologists, central scheduling staff, assistant radiology technologists, senior radiology residents

Healthcare organization

(A large academic tertiary care center)

Not reported

20

Meaden et al., 2021 [56]

Not reported

Over 35,000 calls between January 27, 2020, to May 31, 2020.

Nurses, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, students in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, and public health

Government and a healthcare organization

(The State Department of Health and the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES))

Not reported.

21

Wahl et al., 2021 [65]

Local newspapers, radio stations, homepage of the city of Mannheim

A total of 55 older adults called duringthe initial stage of the pandemic (13 April–15 June).

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim (CIMH), University of Heidelberg)

Not reported

22

Zabrzygraj and Świtaj, 2021 [16]

News bulletins of the Polish Televi sion TVP Info, website, facebook

A total of 262 individuals contacting the helpline from March to July 2020.

Mental health professionals, social worker

Healthcare organization

(Warsaw-based Mokotow District Mental Health Center)

Not reported

23

Alfatih and Rachmawati, 2022 [51]

Media

The number of calls was 2769 from March 14, 2020, to March 29, 2021,

Not reported

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Regional Disaster Relief Agency (BPBD) and the Health Office of DIY)

Not reported

24

Egić, 2022 [67]

Not reported

Not reported

Physicians, mental health professionals

Government

(The initiative of the “Novi Sad” Mayor)

Not reported

25

Khan et al., 2022 [39]

TV Channel

Not reported

Physicians

Government and a healthcare organization

(Aaj Tak News Channel and AIMS2Health Private Limited)

Not reported

26

Monreal-Bartolomé et al., 2022 [68]

Different administrations and entities

A total of 1411 calls were answered in the 46 days that the service was active, with an average of 30.67 calls/day.

Mental health professionals

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Professional College of Psychology of Aragon together with the Department of Health of Aragon and with collaboration from the Rey Ardid Foundation)

Not reported

27

Nina-Mollinedo et al., 2022 [22]

Not reported

A total of 167,261 calls were received in the first 100 days of its implementation (March-June).

Physicians

Government

(The Bolivian Ministry of Health and Sports)

Not reported

28

Ouyang et al., 2022 [45]

Not reported

A total of 4319 calls were received from 27 January to 30 June 2020.

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(The Jiangsu Psychological Crisis Center in Nanjing Brain Hospital affiliated with Nanjing Medical University)

Not reported

29

Peng et al., 2022 [46]

Not reported

706 people sought psychological assistance from January 25 to June 23 2020

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(The Psychological Crisis (Intervention Professional Committee of Guangdong Mental Health Association))

Not reported

30

Singh et al., 2022 [52]

Social media, news media, radio stations, newspapers, organizations that were actively working on Covid-19 management, local government bodies, and large organization networks

Total number of Incoming calls from May 2021 till February 2022 was 12,555.

Physicians, medical officers, nurses

A non-profit organization

(ASK Foundation (a non-profit organization based in Nepal) with help of a private telecommunication company)

Patients had a very positive response regarding the service.

31

Sosa Lovera et al., 2022 [59]

A written advertisement containing the telephone numbers and schedules of the volunteers, and short videos promoting the service, by the social networks of the University and the Dominican College of Psychologists, WhatsApp groups and personal social networks

Over the course of four months, the programme assisted 497 people.

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(The School of Psychology at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD))

Feedback was collected and service assessment surveys were completed by care staff and people who had received care through the helpline.

32

Abdelbaky et al., 2023 [70]

Social media, T.V, Health care provider

Not reported

Nurses, physicians

Governmental organization

(Ministry of Health)

Almost about 75.1% were positive and 50.1% were satisfied with using the hotline emergency triage services.

33

Alabdulla et al., 2023 [48]

Not reported

A total of 12,594 calls were answered during the 12-month study period.

Mental health professionals, triage clinicians

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Hamad Medical Corporation Mental Health Service, the Ministry of Public Health and the Primary Health Care Corporation)

A patient satisfaction survey, demonstrated predominantly positive feedback and 90% of callers stated that they would recommend the service to a friend or a relative.

34

Arafa et al., 2023 [49]

Media outlets (newspapers, television, radio), social media platforms

A total of 60,229 calls were received between April-August 2020 (during the five months).

Physicians

Healthcare organization

(Hamad Medical Corporation, the public health provider in Qatar)

Not reported

35

Bates et al., 2023 [66]

The line was widely advertised through the health service, promoted on national radio and supported by nationally known celebrities.

In total, 691 calls were recorded on Amazon Connect.

Volunteers were graduates of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, graduates of a postgraduate training in Bereavement

Government and a healthcare organization

(The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) and the Irish National Health Service Executive (HSE))

Volunteers expressed a high level of satisfaction with the management of the line, and the training provided. They reported high levels of job satisfaction (100%) and most (86%) expressed an intention to continue volunteering. 75.2% of callers were satisfied, 20.7% were neutral and 4.1% were dissatisfied.

36

Gussin et al., 2023 [57]

Not reported

The median number of monthly inquiries was 22

Not reported

Healthcare organization

(University of California Irvine School of Medicine)

Not reported

37

Ibrahim et al., 2023 [42]

Not reported

A total of 169 valid callback entries were reviewed from March 29, 2020 till May 31, 2020.

Mental health professionals

Government and a healthcare organization

(The behest of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in coordination with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India)

Not reported

38

Kok et al., 2023 [71]

In the first two weeks, all community health workers were contacted by the call-center to make them aware of the support that they could get and to provide them with information about Covid-19. To further promote the use of the call center and share information about CO VID-19, flyers and poster were printed and distributed among all CHWs

A total of 35,553 calls to the call center was received between March 2020 and June 2021.

Nurses, physicians, clinical officers

Governmental and a healthcare organization

(Collaboration with the Ministry of Health Uganda, and a local consortium)

In-depth interviews were conducted with the staff of the call-center and Community Health Workers who had used the call center.

The telehealth approach did prove useful for supporting community health workers regular health services in rural communities.

39

Lai et al., 2023 [47]

Not reported

26,870 calls were received from February 28, 2020, to April 23, 2021.

Mental health professionals

Governmental organization

(The Ministry of Education in China)

Not reported

40

Munyikwa et al., 2023 [58]

Not reported

Virtual call center served 1727 patients and community members From April 2020 to March 2022.

Medical, Nursing, and Social Work Students

Healthcare organization

(The University of Pennsylvania and its accompanying health system (UPHS))

Feedback was obtained through semi-structured interviews with students, patients, and health care providersand it was largely positive.

41

Sasidharan et al., 2023 [40]

Various media, including websites, social media platforms, and local newspapers. Flyers in both English and Tamil were also used.

A total of 677 calls to the helpline was received between mid-May and mid-June 2021.

Volunteers among the medical and nonmedical personnel, as well as the support staff (medical consultants, nurses, physicians, chaplains, Mental health professionals)

Healthcare organization

(A tertiary care institution in India)

The volunteers reported that the team evaluations, feedback, counseling, and coordination among the teams from different areas helped them feel supported through the experience while making an impact.

42

Tansa et al., 2023 [43]

Not reported

327 calls were received between June 2020 and March 2021.

Mental health professionals

Healthcare organization

(The national Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India)

Not reported

43

Thangarasu et al., 2023 [41]

The telephone number for the call center was distributed by the government announcements.

278,665 calls were received during the period of November 2020 to June 2023.

All of the employees from the Directorate of Public health and preventive medicine with advanced degrees and training in different fields of healthcare delivery

Government

(The Tamil Nadu government initiated the call center)

Not reported