%0 Journal Article
%T 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.
%A Katana E
%A Ndyabakira A
%A Migisha R
%A Gonahasa DN
%A Amanya G
%A Byaruhanga A
%A Chebrot I
%A Oundo C
%A Kadobera D
%A Bulage L
%A Ario AR
%A Okello DA
%A Harris JR
%J Pan Afr Med J
%V 47
%N 0
%D 2024
%M 38933438
暂无%R 10.11604/pamj.2024.47.141.36203
%X UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: 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.