Specialist call handlers’ perspectives on providing help on a cancer helpline: a qualitative interview study
Specialist call handlers’ perspectives on providing help on a cancer helpline: a qualitative interview study
Objective: to identify call handlers’ key experiences of providing telephone help on a cancer helpline.
Methods: semi‐structured qualitative interviews with 30 call handlers from three UK‐based cancer helplines. Transcribed interview data were analysed thematically.
Results: thematic analysis identified three themes: (a) call handlers’ perceptions of their role on the helpline, (b) challenges of working on a helpline and (c) the need for training/keeping up with competencies. Call handlers reported satisfaction with their experience. However, there are tensions: whilst advice is formally not part of the remit of the helpline, in practice the boundary between giving advice and giving information can be blurred. No follow‐up with callers could be difficult and experienced as a lost opportunity to help. Managing patient expectations could be challenging, and interviewees described particular difficulties with distressed callers. Training for the role was commonplace, but there was sometimes a desire for more opportunities.
Conclusion: there are challenges faced by helpline staff, and it can be difficult to manage callers’ distress and expectations of what they might get from a call experience. Recognising the skill and complexity of the call handler role is important, as it is meeting call handlers’ support and training needs. Support is important to minimise the risk to their own emotional well‐being.
Leydon, Geraldine M.
c5cdaff5-0fa1-4d38-b575-b97c2892ec40
Halls, Amy
75f2a817-41cf-4283-8276-2088d7d27429
Ekberg, Katie
9a3efb54-e025-46fb-ad9d-effd43966fc3
Latter, Sue
83f100a4-95ec-4f2e-99a5-186095de2f3b
Stuart, Beth
626862fc-892b-4f6d-9cbb-7a8d7172b209
Moynihan, Clare
5830406c-b68c-4ec6-ac83-833c2af9b095
Salmon, Peter
ba0b84f7-15af-44d7-b3f2-5c967247b6d6
Danquah, Lisa
9b0797d4-eb33-4db3-bc3d-968e4c2c2c95
Brindle, Lucy
17158264-2a99-4786-afc0-30990240436c
Howe, Sonia
81ec1986-c77a-46c2-825b-d60d08c07ae5
Woods, Catherine J.
eec3c9cd-7c01-4a39-ab4b-2e01f2f348ff
Little, Paul
1bf2d1f7-200c-47a5-ab16-fe5a8756a777
Leydon, Geraldine M.
c5cdaff5-0fa1-4d38-b575-b97c2892ec40
Halls, Amy
75f2a817-41cf-4283-8276-2088d7d27429
Ekberg, Katie
9a3efb54-e025-46fb-ad9d-effd43966fc3
Latter, Sue
83f100a4-95ec-4f2e-99a5-186095de2f3b
Stuart, Beth
626862fc-892b-4f6d-9cbb-7a8d7172b209
Moynihan, Clare
5830406c-b68c-4ec6-ac83-833c2af9b095
Salmon, Peter
ba0b84f7-15af-44d7-b3f2-5c967247b6d6
Danquah, Lisa
9b0797d4-eb33-4db3-bc3d-968e4c2c2c95
Brindle, Lucy
17158264-2a99-4786-afc0-30990240436c
Howe, Sonia
81ec1986-c77a-46c2-825b-d60d08c07ae5
Woods, Catherine J.
eec3c9cd-7c01-4a39-ab4b-2e01f2f348ff
Little, Paul
1bf2d1f7-200c-47a5-ab16-fe5a8756a777
Leydon, Geraldine M., Halls, Amy, Ekberg, Katie, Latter, Sue, Stuart, Beth, Moynihan, Clare, Salmon, Peter, Danquah, Lisa, Brindle, Lucy, Howe, Sonia, Woods, Catherine J. and Little, Paul
(2019)
Specialist call handlers’ perspectives on providing help on a cancer helpline: a qualitative interview study.
European Journal of Cancer Care, [e13081].
(doi:10.1111/ecc.13081).
Abstract
Objective: to identify call handlers’ key experiences of providing telephone help on a cancer helpline.
Methods: semi‐structured qualitative interviews with 30 call handlers from three UK‐based cancer helplines. Transcribed interview data were analysed thematically.
Results: thematic analysis identified three themes: (a) call handlers’ perceptions of their role on the helpline, (b) challenges of working on a helpline and (c) the need for training/keeping up with competencies. Call handlers reported satisfaction with their experience. However, there are tensions: whilst advice is formally not part of the remit of the helpline, in practice the boundary between giving advice and giving information can be blurred. No follow‐up with callers could be difficult and experienced as a lost opportunity to help. Managing patient expectations could be challenging, and interviewees described particular difficulties with distressed callers. Training for the role was commonplace, but there was sometimes a desire for more opportunities.
Conclusion: there are challenges faced by helpline staff, and it can be difficult to manage callers’ distress and expectations of what they might get from a call experience. Recognising the skill and complexity of the call handler role is important, as it is meeting call handlers’ support and training needs. Support is important to minimise the risk to their own emotional well‐being.
Text
Callhandler paper accepted March 2019 v2
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 25 March 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 May 2019
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 432742
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/432742
ISSN: 0961-5423
PURE UUID: bb0a80a3-ee56-4ef5-a3fd-c855d1733b39
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 25 Jul 2019 16:30
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 04:04
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Katie Ekberg
Author:
Clare Moynihan
Author:
Peter Salmon
Author:
Lisa Danquah
Author:
Sonia Howe
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics