The Swedish telephone herpes helpline.
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.
Hallén
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A
Dept. of Dermatology & Venereology, Akademiska Sjukhuset, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Strand
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Juserius
H
H
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