[Telephone hot line service to Kirkenes SOS in Norway].
BACKGROUND
For many years, voluntary organisations in Norway have operated telephone help line services inspired by the Samaritans and their work in Great Britain.


METHODS
Characteristics of the calls in 1997 to a service run by Church of Norway volunteers and dedicated to the prevention of suicide were reviewed. Characteristics of the callers and of the problems indicated are presented. The analysis is based on registrations of each call by the voluntary worker.


RESULTS
A total of 125,000 calls were registered throughout the country. 30% were silent calls. Men used the service almost as frequently as women. Loneliness, psychiatric problems, physical illness and relational problems were often discussed. 2-11% of the callers, mostly younger people, mentioned suicidal thoughts.
Berle
J Ø
JØ
Psykiatrisk institutt Universitetet i Bergen 5021 Bergen. jan.berle@psyk.uib.no
D000328:Adult; D003419:Crisis Intervention / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D014600:Utilization Review; D000092864:Suicide Prevention