Calls & Callers

Senior Help Line in excess of 10,500 calls in 2010. Loneliness continues to be the largest single issue on the help line either expressed or implied. Callers also seek information on a range of issues including entitlements, services, home security, and clarification/information on topical items as reported in media.

Call Volumes

Call volumes vary during the year and are typically highest in mid summer and December. Traditionally, the summer holidays can be a lonely time for older people when family, friends and neighbours may be away, while Christmas can be a difficult for those who have few social contacts.

Profile of callers

The majority of callers are in the 66-75 age group, followed by callers aged 50-65. By far the largest caller category tend to be single, widowed, living alone or separated. Just over half of all callers phone from rural Ireland. Most callers are Irish, and calls to Senior Help Line do not as yet reflect Ireland’s changing ethnic profile. Very many callers are frequent or regular callers, some of whom have built up a relationship with our volunteers over many years.

Call Duration

Almost half of all calls tend to last between five and 10 minutes, while longer calls lasting up to 20 minutes are not unusual.

Reasons for call

While loneliness is the single underlying reason most people call Senior Help Line, this feeling of isolation contributes to difficulties associated with health and family problems and is a factor in some bereavement-related calls. Males aged 66-75 tend to be the most frequent callers experiencing loneliness, with ‘nobody to talk to’, the most frequent reason given by these callers for contact.

Loneliness is typically followed by family problems, financial worries, health issues, information seeking, bereavement, suicidal thoughts and elder abuse - as reasons for calling Senior Help Line.

Female callers were more likely than male callers to report family problems. Callers typically reported concerns about family disharmony, and a recurring issue is lack of contact from adult sons or daughters.

Calls reporting financial worries have increased during the economic downturn. Such worries include concerns over managing on pension, fears of losing medical card, cutbacks to community services such as home helps, concern about security of pension and investments, and concerns for the economic difficulties being experienced by family members.

Senior Help Line experiences a rise in information-seeking calls around the time of the budget.

Calls expressing sadness after bereavement remain a constant on the help line, and these can include recent bereavements and more long-term loss.

Calls reporting elder abuse or fears about elder abuse have increased since 2008. More females than males report elder abuse. Elder abuse can be: physical, emotional, financial, or linked to neglect, and most calls report emotional abuse followed by financial abuse, with physical abuse featuring in a smaller proportion of calls. Bullying and control is often a factor in elder abuse, and some callers need support in seeing that the behaviour they are suffering under is abusive and unacceptable.