Section SOCIETY
TOPIC

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ ΑΝΤΙΡΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΟΥ ΑΓΩΝΑ
PSYCHO-SOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAM/HELP LINE

The Help Line (210 8237302) enables communication with people who have moving difficulties due to physical weakness, lack of time, or remote place of residence, but also to those who find it difficult to speak face to face with the mental health professional.

The other activities  of the program are aimed at improving the quality of life of people with rheumatism

Patients with RMDs and their families/caregivers

It started in 2007.

It is one of the main pillars of the activities of EL.E.AN.A. as it unites and supports all sufferers from wherever they are, helping them with optimism, strength and hope to face their daily routine.

They are part of the Program

  • Helpline
  • The support teams, with 23 participants
  • The self-management program with 21participants
  •  The one to one  sessions with 50 participants
  • The creation, training & coordination of a network of 16 volunteers in the psychosocial sector who inform the patients  in the hospitals.

The Helpline was launched nationally in July 2007, as a service provided free of charge to approximately 2,500,000 people with rheumatic diseases and / or their families, friends and relatives, and provides an alternative service, which is direct, without financial burden, with access to people who have difficulty moving due to physical disability, lack of time, or remote place of residence but also to those who find it difficult to find face to face with the mental health professional. It is confidential and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Health. Aim of EL.E.AN.A. has always been the greatest possible coverage of the needs of rheumatic patients throughout Greece and the telephone line is one of the main means of achieving this goal.

The line has a nationwide scope and accepts requests daily (Monday to Friday 10.00am - 16.00pm) which are answered immediately or by appointment by a specially trained psychotherapist.

In 2020, the calls to the Telephone Line increased by 300%. Only online sessions were held due to COVID-19. In 2021 the online sessions continue again due to COVID-19.

1 psychotherapist and volunteers 

It is located in Athens but it addresses patients all over Greece 

Until to date, it has helped more than 8000 people, and it is worth noting that a significant increase in total calls per year occurred from 2012 onwards, which remained relatively stable until 2016. For example, the increase from 2011 to 2012 reached 48% while in 2016 the percentage of increase in calls reached 90%. In 2020, telephone line calls increased by 300% due to COVID-19.

In conclusion, the fifteen-year operation of the Helpline of the EL.E.AN.A.  could be characterized as successful. This comes up, firstly, from its continuous operation and the response of rheumatologists to it, and secondly, from the significant increasing trends of the recorded calls. The operation of the line is very important today and is a help to the sick people, due to the difficult financial conditions and the reduced public services.