title: An exercise in communication:-analysis of calls to a meningococcal disease hotline.
abstract: We describe our experience with a hotline which was set up to deal with enquiries relating to a secondary school mass vaccination campaign against meningococcal disease. Three thousand, three hundred calls were received over 6 days, mostly from the general public but also from contacts of the school and health practitioners. The hotline served as an important means of providing consistent advice and reassurance to the public and reduced the burden of calls to hospitals and public health units.
authors.affiliation: Brisbane Southside Public Health Unit, Archerfield, Qld. Justine_Ward@health.qld.gov.au
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: McCall
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Cherian
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015980:Public Health Practice; D012572:School Health Services
chemical_list: D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines