A descriptive survey of cancer helplines in the United Kingdom: Who they are, the services offered, and the accessibility of those services.

There are more than 1500 UK health helplines in operation, yet we have scant knowledge about the resources in place to support the seeking and delivering of cancer-related telephone help and support. This research aimed to identify and describe cancer and cancer-related helpline service provision: the number of helplines available, the variety of services provided, and the accessibility of those services. This study used online national questionnaire survey sent to 95 cancer and cancer-related helplines in the United Kingdom. A total of 69 (73%) of 95 surveyed cancer and cancer-related helplines completed the survey. Most helplines/organizations were registered charities, supported by donations; 73.5% of helplines had national coverage. Most helplines served all age-groups, ethnic groups, and men and women. Only 13.4% had a number that was free from landlines and most mobile networks, and 56.6% could only be contacted during working hours. More than 50% of helplines reported no provisions for callers with additional needs, and 55% had no clinical staff available to callers. Ongoing support and training for helpline staff was available but variable. Although cancer helplines in the United Kingdom offer reasonably broad coverage across the country, there are still potential barriers to accessibility. There are also opportunities to optimize the training of staff/volunteers across the sector. There are further prospects for helplines to enhance services and sustain appropriate and realistic quality standards.

Leydon GM ，Stuart B ，Danquah L ，Ekberg K ，Brindle L ，Latter S ，Moynihan C ，Salmon P ，Howe S ，Stokoe E ，Little P ... -  《-》

The role of helplines in cancer care: intertwining emotional support with information or advice-seeking needs.

Ekberg K ，McDermott J ，Moynihan C ，Brindle L ，Little P ，Leydon GM ... -  《-》

Evaluation of the Dutch AIDS STI information helpline: differential outcomes of telephone versus online counseling.

Health information helplines have an important function in health education, prevention and counseling. Information and help services are increasingly provided online. This study focuses on the differences and similarities between online help services and telephone services. The telephone service of the Dutch AIDS STI helpline was compared to its e-mail equivalent. After consulting the helpline service, both callers and e-mailers (N(tot) = 455) were asked to participate in a survey that evaluated their background characteristics, contacting reasons, and satisfaction with the specific service and information received. The survey also included questions regarding the advice received from the helpline. A follow-up measure 4 weeks after the baseline survey evaluated to what extent clients acted upon the advice. The study shows that both services are positively evaluated and are equally persuasive in their counseling. Differences between callers and e-mailers were found regarding background characteristics, content of the consultation, satisfaction, and the advice received. It can be concluded that online health information services are an important addition to, but not a replacement for, the traditional telephone helplines. In order to provide an optimal health service to a wide public, both online and telephone counseling should be offered.

Mevissen FE ，Eiling E ，Bos AE ，Tempert B ，Mientjes M ，Schaalma HP ... -  《-》

Operating a patient medicines helpline: a survey study exploring current practice in England using the RE-AIM evaluation framework.

Williams M ，Jordan A ，Scott J ，Jones MD ... -  《BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH》

How do frequent users of crisis helplines differ from other users regarding their reasons for calling? Results from a survey with callers to Lifeline, Australia's national crisis helpline service.

Crisis helplines are designed to provide short-term support to people in an immediate crisis. However, there is a group of users who call crisis helplines frequently over an extended period of time. The reasons for their ongoing use remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the reasons for calling between frequent and other users of crisis helplines. This was achieved by examining the findings from a brief survey completed by callers to Lifeline Australia at the end of their call between February and July 2015. In the survey, callers reported on their socio-demographics, reasons for their current call and number of calls made in the past month. Survey respondents were categorised as frequent, episodic and one-off users, and analyses were conducted using ordered logistic regression. Three hundred and fifteen callers completed the survey, which represented 57% of eligible callers. Twenty-two per cent reported calling 20 times or more in the past month (frequent users), 51% reported calling between 2 and 19 times (episodic users) and 25% reported calling once (one-off users). Two per cent were unable to recall the number of calls they made in the past month. Frequent users reported similar reasons for calling as other users but they were more likely to call regularly to talk about their feelings [OR = 6.0; 95% CI: 3.7-9.8]. This pattern of service use is at odds with the current model of care offered by crisis helplines which is designed to provide one-off support. There is a need to investigate further the factors that drive frequent users to call crisis helplines regularly.

Middleton A ，Woodward A ，Gunn J ，Bassilios B ，Pirkis J ... -  《-》