Demographic Characteristics and Common Complaints of People Seeking Telephone Consulting Services for Anxiety and Stress Caused by COVID-19

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and imposed quarantine have had different effects on the social and psychological aspects of people. The lack of any definitive treatment or preventive method for COVID-19 has caused a great deal of stress and anxiety in people. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic characteristics and common complaints of callers to the telephone counseling helpline to receive services for anxiety and stress caused by COVID-19. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study samples were 1978 callers to the telephone counseling helpline of the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR) in Iran. Data collection was done by a checklist made by researchers and provided to the consultants. Findings: Most of callers (65.8%) were women and married (77.7%) with a mean age of 44.14 years; 41.5% of callers with no any symptoms were afraid and worried about getting infected; 26.6% stated their anxiety was due to worry that their first-degree relatives may get infected, and 8.5% reported that their anxiety was because of fear of economic problems and loss of job or income . Conclusion: The main users of the telephone counseling helpline was married women aged 30-39 years. Considering the anxiety and stress caused by COVID-19 outbreak, it seems necessary to provide counseling services.