Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar 26:47:141.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2024.47.141.36203. eCollection 2024.

Use of a toll-free call center for COVID-19 response and continuity of essential services during the lockdown, Greater Kampala, Uganda, 2020: a descriptive study

Elizabeth Katana  1   2 , Alex Ndyabakira  1   2 , Richard Migisha  1 , Doreen Nsiimire Gonahasa  1 , Geoffrey Amanya  1 , Aggrey Byaruhanga  1 , Isaiah Chebrot  2 , Christopher Oundo  2 , Daniel Kadobera  1 , Lilian Bulage  1 , Alex Riolexus Ario  1   3 , Daniel Ayen Okello  2 , Julie Rebecca Harris  4
Affiliations

Use of a toll-free call center for COVID-19 response and continuity of essential services during the lockdown, Greater Kampala, Uganda, 2020: a descriptive study

Elizabeth Katana et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: on March 21, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Uganda. A total lockdown was initiated on March 30 which was gradually lifted May 5-June 30. On March 25, a toll-free call center was organized at the Kampala Capital City Authority to respond to public concerns about COVID-19 and the lockdown. We documented the set-up and use of the call center and analyzed key concerns raised by the public.

Methods: two hotlines were established and disseminated through media platforms in Greater Kampala. The call center was open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We abstracted data on incoming calls from March 25 to June 30, 2020. We summarized call data into categories and conducted descriptive analyses of public concerns raised during the lockdown.

Results: among 10,167 calls, two-thirds (6,578; 64.7%) involved access to health services, 1,565 (15.4%) were about social services, and 1,375 (13.5%) involved COVID-19-related issues. Approximately one-third (2,152; 32.7%) of calls about access to health services were requests for ambulances for patients with non-COVID-19-related emergencies. About three-quarters of calls about social services were requests for food and relief items (1,184; 75.7%). Half of the calls about COVID-19 (730; 53.1%) sought disease-related information.

Conclusion: the toll-free call center was used by the public during the COVID-19 lockdown in Kampala. Callers were more concerned about access to essential health services, non-related to COVID-19 disease. It is important to plan for continuity of essential services before a public health emergency-related lockdown.

Keywords: COVID-19 response; Toll-free; Uganda; access; call center; capital city; continuity; lockdown; social services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
flow chart illustrating the telephone triage process used at a toll-free call center for COVID-19 response and continuity of essential services during the lockdown in Greater Kampala, Uganda, 2020
Figure 2
Figure 2
time trend of daily incoming calls versus new confirmed COVID-19 cases at the toll-free call center for COVID-19 response and continuity of essential services during five lockdown phases in Greater Kampala
Figure 3
Figure 3
the trend of daily incoming calls about COVID-19, access to social services, and essential health services at the toll-free call center in Greater Kampala
Figure 4
Figure 4
the average number of incoming calls, about COVID-19, access to social services, and essential health services, by day of the week, at the toll-free call center in Greater Kampala
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization Risk communication saves lives and livelihoods. 2015. Accessed on June 18 2021.
    1. Abrams EM, Greenhawt M. Risk Communication During COVID-19. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2020;8(6):1791–1794. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clancy T, Neuwirth C, Bukowski G. Lessons learned in implementing a 24/7 public health call center in response to H1N1 in the state of New Jersey. Am J Disaster Med. 2009;4(5):253–260. - PubMed
    1. Boulos MNK. Descriptive review of geographic mapping of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the Internet. Int J Health Geogr. 2004 Jan 28;3(1):2. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tan TK. How Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Affected the Department of Anaesthesia at Singapore General Hospital. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2004;32(3):394–400. - PubMed

MeSH terms