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An evaluation of healthcare seeking behaviours through a telephone health advice and triage service
Delaforce, Alana Good, Norm Niven, Philippa Plate, Curtis Jayasena, Rajiv Parkinson, Joy
Delaforce, Alana
Good, Norm
Niven, Philippa
Plate, Curtis
Jayasena, Rajiv
Parkinson, Joy
Abstract
Globally, healthcare systems face strain from inappropriate consumer care-seeking behaviors, and solutions are needed to direct them to appropriate care avenues, including self-management. The Healthdirect Australia 24/7 National Coronavirus Helpline was established to provide telephone health advice and triage. This study evaluates the helpline’s performance, consumer satisfaction, and influence on care-seeking behaviors. Using an online survey and telephony metrics, data from 329 survey respondents and 94,494 calls were analyzed. Results showed efficient service with most calls answered within 48 seconds and a low call abandonment rate of 4%. The average call length was 7 min and 13 s. Consumer satisfaction was high, with 71% rating it as high or very high. The helpline influenced health-seeking behaviors positively, (χ2 (1, N = 943) = 89.0, p < .0001) with a 35% increase in self-management, a 12% reduction in unnecessary emergency department visits, and a 5% reduction in emergency services calls. Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of this care model.
Keywords
ED, GP, emergency department, general practitioner
Date
2025
Type
Journal article
Journal
Health Marketing Quarterly
Book
Volume
Issue
Page Range
1-18
Article Number
ACU Department
Faculty of Law and Business
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.