Profile of distress callers and service utilisation of tele-counselling among the population of Assam, India: an exploratory study during COVID-19

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dc.contributor.authorHazarika, Men_US
dc.contributor.authorDas, Ben_US
dc.contributor.authorDas, Sen_US
dc.contributor.authorBaruah, Aen_US
dc.contributor.authorSharma, Nen_US
dc.contributor.authorBarua, Cen_US
dc.contributor.authorDas, Jen_US
dc.contributor.authorChoudhury, Sen_US
dc.contributor.authorHazarika, Den_US
dc.contributor.authorSarma, Pen_US
dc.contributor.authorBhandari, SS.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-14T07:00:28Z
dc.date.available2023-07-14T07:00:28Z
dc.date.issued2021-06
dc.description.abstractBackground: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people globally by causing psychological, social, and economic chaos. The Assam Police, India started telephone helplines to address the psychological issues. Aims: To evaluate the sociodemographic profile of the distress callers, their psychosocial concerns, the interventions provided by the service provider, and whether the service users were satisfied with the intervention(s) or not. Method: It was a cross-sectional study done during the period of lockdown (7-24 April 2020). All the callers who called the helpline were screened for anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts (when required), and the psychosocial issues which they were facing were explored. They were provided the psychological intervention(s) at the appropriate time, and they were asked to rate their experience at the end. Results: A total of 239 callers used the tele-counselling services. The majority of callers were male (79.1%). Most of the callers were between 19-35 years of age group (66.5%), married (52.5%), and graduates (31%). Two-thirds of the callers called to seek guidance for their own issues and one-third for their relatives or friends. Callers had anxiety (46%), depressive disorder (8.3%), and depressive symptoms not qualifying for depressive disorder (14%), and suicidal thoughts (5.44%). The commonest intervention provided to the callers was supportive (77.8%), followed by psychoeducation (30.5%), cognitive behaviour therapy (24.7%), relaxation (23.6%) and behaviour therapy (13.4%). Most of the callers utilised more than one type of therapy. Overall, most of the callers were satisfied and appreciated the tele-counselling services. Conclusion: The findings could help in formulating psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups in the post-COVID-19 period to reduce psychiatric morbidity and mortality.en_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Psychiatry, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Psychiatry, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Psychiatry, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsUdayachal-Jadav Chandra Bhuyan Memorial Trust, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsNavaprerona Psycho-Spiritual Counselling Services, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsPsychiatric Clinic, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliations151 Base Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDelhi University, New Delhi, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsClinical Pharmacology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Psychiatry, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal University, Gangtok, Sikkim, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.citationHazarika M, Das B, Das S, Baruah A, Sharma N, Barua C, Das J, Choudhury S, Hazarika D, Sarma P, Bhandari SS.. Profile of distress callers and service utilisation of tele-counselling among the population of Assam, India: an exploratory study during COVID-19. Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences. 2021 Jun; 12(1): 7-12en_US
dc.identifier.issn2394-2061
dc.identifier.issn2394-2053
dc.identifier.placeIndiaen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/218380
dc.languageenen_US
dc.publisherAcademy Publisheren_US
dc.relation.issuenumber1en_US
dc.relation.volume12en_US
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.5958/2394-2061.2021.00001.Xen_US
dc.subjectAnxietyen_US
dc.subjectDepressionen_US
dc.subjectSuicide.en_US
dc.titleProfile of distress callers and service utilisation of tele-counselling among the population of Assam, India: an exploratory study during COVID-19en_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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