Telephone Emergency Service 142 (TelefonSeelsorge) during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Survey among Counselors in Austria.

Elke Humer,Petra Schadenhofer,Ida-Maria Kisler,Christoph Pieh,Thomas Probst,Wolfgang Schimböck

doi:10.3390/ijerph18052228

Abstract

Telephone emergency services play an important role in providing low-threshold, anonymous crisis intervention free of cost. The current study aims to examine the mental well-being and perceived stress level of counselors as well as the main topics of helpline callers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. In the current study, 374 counselors were recruited within the Austrian nationwide organization TelefonSeelsorge during the second wave of COVID-19 infection in Austria. The mental well-being (WHO-5) and perceived stress-level (PSS-10) were assessed and counselors were asked about the frequency of different topics thematized by callers and changes compared to pre-pandemic times. Compared to a reference group of the Austrian general population, counselors experienced less stress (13.22 vs. 16.42) and higher mental well-being (66.26 vs. 57.36; p < 0.001). The most frequent topics during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria were loneliness and mental health. More calls were registered in 2020 compared to 2019 and especially the topics loneliness, mental health, professional activities and relationships were reported to be thematized more often during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the time before (p < 0.001). The results contribute to an understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telephone crisis intervention.

Highlights

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the governmental restrictions to combat the rapid spread of the virus influence almost all aspects of life
The current study aims to examine the mental well-being and perceived stress level of counselors as well as the main topics of helpline callers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
Loneliness and mental health were the main topics of helpline callers during the second wave of the COVID-19 infection in Austria, differing significantly from all other topics (p < 0.001)

Summary

Introduction

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the governmental restrictions to combat the rapid spread of the virus influence almost all aspects of life. In addition to the direct impact of the virus on physical health, substantial detrimental economic impacts, increasing anxiety due to the risk of infection, social isolation, confusing media activity, insecurity and the limited capacity of the healthcare system have to be taken into account [1,2]. Previous studies highlight an increase in mental disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increased depressive, anxiety and insomnia symptoms [3,4]. 16% for insomnia were observed during the first COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020 [5] These high prevalence rates remained at this elevated level even six months after the end of the lockdown, indicating that the detrimental health consequences of the COVID19 pandemic persisted several months after its outbreak and the end of the lockdown measures, respectively [6].

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