Calls with suicidality and psychological distress to a national helpline during the COVID-19 pandemic

IF 3.7 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of psychiatric research Pub Date : 2025-05-23 DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.05.054

Shiri Daniels , Hadas Yeshayahu , Gil Zalsman , Sahar Yihia , Ella Sarel-Mahlev , Joy Benatov

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the psychological distress and suicide-related calls to Israel's national crisis helpline (ERAN) in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating the impact of COVID-19 public health measures, including lockdowns and vaccination rollouts. The analysis, covering over a million calls, investigating trends in call volume associated with policy shifts. Findings indicate an initial peak in distress calls, which gradually declined, stabilizing after vaccines became available. Suicide-related calls increased at a slower rate and later dropped, following vaccine rollout. Lockdowns were correlated with heightened general distress, but not with an increase in suicide-related calls.

The findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring and support for populations at risk of suicide, as suicidal tendencies can emerge gradually, lagging after the emotional distress. These results underscore the critical role of public health measures in mitigating mental health outcomes during national health crises, potentially offering policymakers valuable insights for future pandemic response planning.

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在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，有自杀倾向和心理困扰的人拨打全国求助热线

本研究调查了2019冠状病毒病大流行后以色列国家危机求助热线（ERAN）的心理困扰和自杀相关电话，评估了2019冠状病毒病公共卫生措施的影响，包括封锁和疫苗接种。这项分析涵盖了100多万个电话，调查了与政策变化相关的电话数量趋势。调查结果表明，求救电话最初达到峰值，随后逐渐下降，在疫苗可用后趋于稳定。与自杀有关的电话以较慢的速度增长，后来在疫苗推出后下降。封锁与总体焦虑加剧有关，但与自杀相关电话的增加无关。研究结果强调了持续监测和支持自杀风险人群的重要性，因为自杀倾向可能在情绪困扰之后逐渐出现。这些结果强调了公共卫生措施在国家卫生危机期间减轻心理健康后果方面的关键作用，可能为政策制定者提供未来大流行应对规划的宝贵见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of psychiatric research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

2.10%

发文量

622

审稿时长

130 days

期刊介绍： Founded in 1961 to report on the latest work in psychiatry and cognate disciplines, the Journal of Psychiatric Research is dedicated to innovative and timely studies of four important areas of research: (1) clinical studies of all disciplines relating to psychiatric illness, as well as normal human behaviour, including biochemical, physiological, genetic, environmental, social, psychological and epidemiological factors; (2) basic studies pertaining to psychiatry in such fields as neuropsychopharmacology, neuroendocrinology, electrophysiology, genetics, experimental psychology and epidemiology; (3) the growing application of clinical laboratory techniques in psychiatry, including imagery and spectroscopy of the brain, molecular biology and computer sciences;