Introduction Vaccination remains a topic of widespread public concern. To ensure that professionals could deliver accurate information to the public directly and efficiently, Suzhou established a dedicated immunization program consultation hotline in 2018. To date, comprehensive, long-term standardized statistical analyses of immunization consultation hotlines in China remain scarce. This study analyzes temporal trends, category characteristics, and shifts in core public concerns regarding immunization consultations in Suzhou from 2018 to 2024, offering evidence to support the optimization of local public health service allocation. Methods Dedicated professionals answered all calls in real time within a designated room (operating hours: 9:00–17:00), and the full content of each call was recorded. Natural language processing (NLP) was applied for text preprocessing, categorical feature definition, frequency counting, and systematic analysis using Microsoft Excel. Descriptive statistics were performed and figures were generated using Python 3.12.1. Results A total of 76,154 valid records were collected. Annual call volume peaked at 15,365 in 2021 before declining by 80% to 3,025 in 2024. Monthly call volumes were highest between May and September and lowest in January and February. The most common consultation category was assessment form-related inquiries (24,911; 32.71%), followed by vaccination services (15,387; 20.21%) and vaccination policies (15,026; 19.73%). The most frequently consulted vaccines were the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) and the rabies vaccine (RV). Conclusions The hotline served as a direct communication channel between the public and government, accurately reflecting dynamic shifts in public immunization demands while providing actionable support for immunization program. The evolving pattern of public vaccination concerns demonstrates measurable improvements in the quality and efficiency of immunization program in Suzhou.
Yunyan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.