Call centers as information and psychological assistance to the population during the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29296/25877305-2021-04-15
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Issue: 
4
Year: 
2021

A. Benyan(1), MD; Professor E. Borodulina(2), *, MD; A. Kalinkin(2), Candidate of Medical
Sciences; A. Sutyagin(2); K. Zhilinskaya(2) (1)Ministry of Health of the Samara Region, Samara (2)Samara
State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia

Provision of information and psychological support was necessary assistance to the population during the pandemic. Objective: to investigate the role and effectiveness of call centers during the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Material and methods. A questionnaire that included 14 questions was designed to place in social networks. The investigation was conducted using Google Forms. Results. There was a high social activity was noted; 370 people including the employees of call centers, mostly medical students, took part in the survey during a day. The questionnaire analysis could create a portrait of citizens who most commonly applied to the call center: their mean age was 46-60 years; these who were employed or family persons; lived with their retired parents; these who applied more frequently in the evening on Saturday and Sunday; these who had no effect of self-medication or were anxious, panic about the available information on the growth of patients in social networks, with claims to the inability to get qualified help. After 2 months of work, social tension was noted to be relieved; appeals were associated with the need to obtain specific information; and the state of panic appeals decreased by 70%. Conclusion. Today, call centers that provide not only a buffer function, but also a real help to people in a difficult psychoemotional situation are one of the measures that curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: 
COVID-19
call center
estimate of efficiency
survey
psychoemotional state
panic
Samara Region

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