title: The Swedish telephone herpes helpline.
abstract: To increase the accessibility of qualified and anonymous advice on herpes infections in Sweden, a telephone counselling service was initiated in November 1994. The nucleus of the service is an answering machine that works around the clock. A caller can choose one of 3 different messages dealing with labial or genital herpes infection or herpes zoster--each message is approximately 3 min long. Those wanting written information can register and have material sent to them. For 2 h daily, 4 days a week, calls pass directly to the staff of the sexually transmitted diseases clinic of the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden--the caller pays only a single telephone unit charge. The personal calls deal with all aspects of herpes infections. During the first 3 months of the counselling service more than 4,500 calls were received.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Dermatology & Venereology, Akademiska Sjukhuset, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hallén
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Juserius
mesh_terms: D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D015277:Hotlines / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013548:Sweden