Heightened demand for mental health information resources during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Germany: A retrospective longitudinal analysis of helpline calls

Abstract

Background

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic precipitated disruptions and limitations in medical services which led to changes in help-seeking behaviour. There was a surge the demand for crisis hotlines. The “Info-Telefon Depression”, a hotline primarily focused on offering information about depressive disorders rather than crisis intervention. This study investigated the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on hotline usage trends through a time-series analysis.

Methods

Based on longitudinal data from 2018 to 2022 predictive models were developed for caller trends on the Info-Telefon Depression. These predictive models were validated by comparing the anticipated caller volumes with actual observations. Unique weekly seasonality parameters were assigned to the lockdown phases to capture anticipated variations in calling patterns. Furthermore, rolling back cross-validation was employed to iteratively assess mean absolute errors over one-month periods during the pre-phase, the SARS-CoV-2-phase and the post-phase to explore variations in forecast quality across these timeframes.

Results

There were 56 more calls observed during the first lockdown phase than anticipated by the forecast model, a statistically significant finding (P < 0.005). During the second lockdown phase, the difference was even greater (P < 0.005) with 262 calls more than expected. The modelling accuracy of the prophet models has differences between the phases indicating that the SARS-CoV-2-phase has a different dynamic.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated that information-seeking behaviour changed during the pandemic, especially during the lockdown phases. In the event of health crises, more resources must be allocated to meet the increased demand for mental health services. Further research needs to explore the pandemic preparedness and crisis readiness.