Exploring strengths, challenges, and experiences of using a national call center during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the 4030 call Center played an important role in reducing the burden of in-person visits to healthcare centers as well as providing psychological support to the public. Despite advantages such as preventing disease spread and alleviating public concerns, challenges including the large number of calls, long waiting times, and limitations of telephone counseling were reported. Therefore, healthcare policymakers need to pay more attention to the strengths and challenges of the call centers during health crises to improve service delivery and use past experiences for future planning.