New COVID-19 challenges and response strategies adopted by a national suicide prevention hotline: A qualitative study

Crisis helplines provide important support for vulnerable individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may also impact the helplines. We explored the challenges that the pandemic brought to Taiwan's national suicide prevention hotline and the hotline's responses. We interviewed 14 hotli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Death studies 2024, Vol.48 (1), p.54-63
Main Authors: Hwang, I-Ting, Shaw, Fortune Fu-Tsung, Hsu, Wen-Yau, Kuan, Chen-I, Liu, Guang-Yi, Chang, Shu-Sen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Suicide prevention
Telephone hotlines
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Summary:Crisis helplines provide important support for vulnerable individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may also impact the helplines. We explored the challenges that the pandemic brought to Taiwan's national suicide prevention hotline and the hotline's responses. We interviewed 14 hotline workers and conducted data analysis using the framework method. The pandemic posed two new challenges to the hotline: potential service interruption and the adjustment of perceived role among hotline workers. The hotline's well-formulated response plan helped it sustain its services during the pandemic, although the workers also experienced stress and frustration resulted from role ambiguity. Our data highlighted the hotline workers' need for accurate COVID-19 information, relevant training, and timely support.
ISSN:0748-1187
1091-7683
DOI:10.1080/07481187.2023.2186535