Fauziah Rabbani

The Noordin M. Thobani Professor
Department of Community Health Sciences

Chief Implementation Research & Innovations, Brain & Mind Institute

Telephone: 92 21 34864811

Publication

Introduction


Education

  • PhD, Health Systems Research, Karolinska Institutet Sweden, 2010
  • Fellowship, Public Health/Community Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, 2008
  • Fellowship, Public Health/Community Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan, 1997
  • Masters, Masters in Public Health, University of Alabama, USA, 1993
  • Internship, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi, 1989
  • MBBS, Sindh Medical College, Karachi, 1988

Research interests

  • Health Systems
  • Policy Analysis
  • Quality of Care
  • Implementation Research
  • Mental Health

Experience

  • Chief Implementation Science & Innovation, Brain and Mind Institute, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2022 to present
  • Professor of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS), AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2009 to present
  • Professor & Associate Vice Provost (Research) at AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2017 – 2022
  • Professor & Chair, Department of CHS, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2009 - 2017
  • Head, Health Systems Division, Department of CHS, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2003 - 2009
  • Associate Professor, Department of CHS, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2003 - 2009
  • Director MSc Health Policy and Management Program, Department of CHS, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 2002 - 2005
  • Assistant Professor, Department of CHS, AKU, Karachi, Pakistan, 1999 - 2003

Professional associations

  • Scientific Committee Chair, BMI International Conference 2025 (Nov 3-5), 2025
  • Departmental Review Committee Chair, BMI, 2024 to present
  • Policy Launching Panel, Sindh Mental Health Policy, Sindh Health Department, Pakistan, 2024 to present
  • Member, Sindh Mental Health Task Force, Sindh Health Department, Pakistan, 2023 to present
  • Member, Sindh Mental Health Authority, Sindh Health Department, Pakistan, 2023 to present
  • Consultant, Joint Health Research Review Committee (JHSRC), Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom, 2020
  • Reviewer, Short-term training grants for research capacity strengthening and knowledge management, World Health Organization TDR, 2015
  • Member with voting rights and convener of Council’s Expert Panel, Board of Governors Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC), Board of Pakistan Journal of Medical Research (PJMR), 2015
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Health Services Research, 2013 to present
  • Consultation, Meeting on International health System Strengthening, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, 2012
  • Associate Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Journal of Public Health (PJPH), 2011 to present
  • Associate Editor, BMC Health Services Research, 2011 to present
  • Technical consultation on priority setting in health systems research, Health Services Academy Islamabad and WHO Geneva, 2011
  • Member, Pakistan Public Health Association (PPHA), 2010
  • Consultation, Devising National Health Policy 2009, WHO Office Islamabad, 2009
  • Technical consultation on project titled “Women as caregivers: the consequences of changes in health provisioning on food and nutrition security among women in poor urban settings in Kenya”, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, 2008
  • Member, Health System and Policy (HSP) group, IHCAR, Division of International Health Department Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, 2005 to present
  • Journal Reviewer for The Lancet, Health Policy and Planning, Health Policy, Public Health (Royal Institute), Journal of Public Health, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, BMC Public Health, BioMed Central, BMC Health Services Research, 2005 to present
  • Advisor, Regional Workshop on “Health Research Proposals Development”, WHO EMRO, Cairo, Egypt, 2003
  • Panel of experts, Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC), 2003 – 2011
  • Committee Member, Mental Health Research and Development Forum (MHRDF), AKU, 2002 – 2003

Awards and honours

  • Scholarship for post-graduate studies, Department of Education and Research, Swedish Institute (SI), Stockholm, Sweden, 2006-07
  • Scholarship for post-graduate studies, Aga Khan University (AKU) Faculty Development Award (FDA), 2006
  • Sabbatical to work at Division of Global health (IHCAR) Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, AKU, 2005
  • Gold Medal Award for Research, Pakistan Association of Medical Sciences (PAMS), 2002
  • Certificate of Good Practices, Commonwealth Award of Excellence on Good Practices in Women’s Health, 1998
  • AKU Scholar, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 1992-93

Publications

  • Hawkes, S., Evagora-Campbell, M., Zahidie, A., Rabbani, F., & Buse, K. (2023). Protecting and promoting the rights of the 'reserve army of labour': a policy analysis of structural determinants of migrant worker health in Pakistan and Qatar. Health policy and planning, 38(6), 665–680. 
  • Aftab, W., Piryani, S., & Rabbani, F. (2021). Does supportive supervision intervention improve community health worker knowledge and practices for community management of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia? Lessons for scale-up from Nigraan and Nigraan Plus trials in Pakistan. Human Resources for Health, 19, 1-11 
  • Adeel Abid, Hania Shahzad, Hyder Ali Khan, Suneel Piryani, Areeba Raza Khan, Fauziah Rabbani. Perceived risk and distress related to COVID-19 in healthcare versus non-healthcare workers of Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Hum Resour Health. 2022 Jan 22;20(1):11
  • Rabbani, F., Perveen, S., Aftab, W., Zahidie, A., Sangrasi, K., & Qazi, S. A. (2016). Health workers’ perspectives, knowledge and skills regarding community case management of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia: a qualitative inquiry for an implementation research project “Nigraan” in District Badin, Sindh, Pakistan. BMC health services research, 16(1), 1-10.
  • Akhtar, S., Rabbani, F., Nafis, J., Siddiqui, A., Merali, Z. A qualitative study assessing acceptability and appropriateness of a technology-assisted mental health intervention by community frontline workers: mPareshan implementation research in rural Pakistan. BMC Psychiatry 25, 16 (2025).
  • Rabbani F, Nafis J, Akhtar S, Khan MS, Sayani S, Siddiqui A, Siddiqi S, Merali Z. Technology-Assisted Mental Health Intervention Delivered by Frontline Workers at Community Doorsteps for Reducing Anxiety and Depression in Rural Pakistan: Protocol for the mPareshan Mixed Methods Implementation Trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2024;13:e54272 (2024)
  • Rabbani, F., Nafis, J., Akhtar, S. et al. Home-based digital counselling by frontline community workers for anxiety and depression symptoms in rural Sindh, Pakistan: the mPareshan intervention. BMC Public Health 25, 2712. (2025)
  • Samina Akhtar, Fauziah Rabbani, Javeria Nafis, Zul Merali. Where there is no specialist – Improving Mental Health Literacy of Frontline Community Health Workers in a Rural District of Pakistan: The mPareshan Project, 10 December 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5571403/v1] (Under review in BJPsych Open)
  • Rabbani, F., Akhtar, S., Nafis, J. et al. Addition of mental health to the lady health worker curriculum in Pakistan: now or never. Hum Resour Health 21, 29 (2023).
  • Rabbani F, Siddiqui A, Merali Z. Responding to mental health challenges of flood-affected communities through technology-driven local solutions in Pakistan: The mPareshan Project. mPareshan Case Study for Wellcome Trust funded ‘Connecting Climate Minds’ project for the Regional Hub (Central & Southern Asia) convened by BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health. Available here: https://hub.connectingclimateminds.org/research-and-action/case-studies/14/
  • mPareshan video “Using technology to bring mental health services to flood-affected communities” available here: https://youtu.be/Xxbdir2QV70 (Short documentary on digital mental health services for flood-affected communities)
  • Trainer’s manual for Frontline Workers to Build Resilience for Climate Change available here: https://www.aku.edu/bmi/research/Documents/Jan_20_Resilience_Building_manual.pdf 
  • Developing and directing a new 3-hour credit graduate course on Climate Change, Health Implications and Health Systems in the Master of Science in Healthcare Management (MSHM) program at Dept. of Community Health Sciences, AKU. https://www.aku.edu/bmi/research/Documents/General_Course_Overview.pdf 
  • Das, J. K., Gaffey, M. F., Ansari, Z. N., Mirani, M., Tabassum, F., Niaz, M., Siddiqui, A., Rabbani, F., Rizvi, A., Ahmed, I., Khan, M., & Bhutta, Z. A. Community-based mental health screening & referral for flood-affected women in rural Pakistan: an intervention feasibility study protocol. BMJ Open, 15(10), Article e104759. (2025)
  • Rabbani, F., Zahidie, A., Siddiqui, A., Shah, S., Merali, Z., Saeed, K., & Afifi, M. (2024). Mental Health of Women in Fragile and Humanitarian settings of the EMR: A Systematic Review. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.
  • Rabbani, F., Khan, H. A., Piryani, S., Khan, A. R., & Abid, F. (2022). Gender-specific psychological and social impact of COVID-19 in Pakistan. BJPsych open, 8(1), e5.
  • Rabbani, F., Qureshi, F., & Rizvi, N. (2008). Perspectives on domestic violence: case study from Karachi, Pakistan. EMHJ-Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 14 (2), 415-426, 2008.
  • Rabbani, F., & Raja, F. F. (2000). The minds of mothers: maternal mental health in an urban squatter settlement of Karachi. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 50(9), 306–312.
  • Rabbani, F., Khan, H. A., Piryani, S., Pradhan, N. A., Shaukat, N., Feroz, A. S., & Perveen, S. (2021). Changing perceptions of rural frontline workers and caregivers about management of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia despite several inequities: the Nigraan plus trial in Pakistan. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 3343-3355.
  • Aftab, W., Rabbani, F., Sangrasi, K., Perveen, S., Zahidie, A., & Qazi, S. A. (2018). Improving community health worker performance through supportive supervision: a randomised controlled implementation trial in Pakistan. Acta Paediatrica, 107, 63-71.
  • Shipton, L., Zahidie, A., & Rabbani, F. (2017). Motivating and demotivating factors for community health workers engaged in maternal, newborn and child health programs in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, 27(3), 157
  • Rabbani, F., Shipton, L., Aftab, W., Sangrasi, K., Perveen, S., & Zahidie, A. (2016). Inspiring health worker motivation with supportive supervision: a survey of lady health supervisor motivating factors in rural Pakistan. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 1-8.
  • Evagora-Campbell, M., Zahidie, A., Buse, K., Rabbani, F., & Hawkes, S. (2022). Promoting labour migrant health equity through action on the structural determinants: A systematic review. Journal of Migration and Health, 5, 100082. 
  • Rabbani, F., Shipton, L., White, F., Nuwayhid, I., London, L., Ghaffar, A., ... & Abbas, F. (2016). Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations? BMC Public Health, 16, 1-12. 
  • Zaidi, S., Riaz, A., Rabbani, F., Azam, S. I., Imran, S. N., Pradhan, N. A., & Khan, G. N. (2015). Can contracted-out health facilities improve access, equity, and quality of maternal and newborn health services? Evidence from Pakistan. Health Research Policy and Systems, 13(1), 47-56. 
  • Aftab, W., Rabbani, F., Sangrasi, K., Perveen, S., Zahidie, A., ... & Qazi, S. (2018). Exploring health care-seeking knowledge, perceptions, and practices for childhood diarrhea and pneumonia and their context in a rural Pakistani community. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1-10. 
  • Rabbani, F., Perveen, S., Abbas, I. N., Aftab, W., Sangrasi, K., Shipton, L., & Zahidie, A. (2016). Policy makers’ perceptions regarding performance of the Lady Health Worker Programme: Is there a know-do gap? Pakistan Journal of Public Health, 5(4), 30.

Grants and research activities

  • Wellcome Trust, NovoNordisk Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation (sub-awardee of University of Edinburgh)
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    August 2024 – March 2025
    Generating Evidence to Improve the Health and Well-being of Low-income Migrant Workers from South Asia
  • Grand Challenges Canada
    Fauziah Rabbani (CoI)
    January 2024 – present
    Community-Based Mental Health Screening & Referral for Flood-Affected Women in Dadu: A Feasibility Study
  • Brain and Mind
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    January 2021 – June 2023
    mPareshan: Addressing symptoms of anxiety and depression through an mHealth application delivered by frontline health workers at community doorsteps.
  • WHO Grant 2022/1310322-0
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    December 2022 – August 2023
    Status of women’s mental health interventions in fragile and humanitarian settings of the Eastern Mediterranean Region
  • Wellcome Trust (sub-awardee of University College London)
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    August 2019 – December 2021
    Project SELMA (Structural Determinants of Labour Migrants Health)
    Effective public policy for improving sexual health of migrants/refugees.
  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    August 2018 – July 2021
    Umeed-e-Nau Nigraan Plus Project
    Supportive supervision of Lady Health Workers to improve quality of services for addressing childhood pneumonia and diarrhea prevention and treatment.
  • WHO-AHPSR Nigraan Project
    August 2013 – March 2016
    Addressing structural gaps in quality of supervisory system in Pakistan’s Lady Health Worker Program to achieve MDG 4 (grant awarded by Implementation Research Platform (IRP), Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR), WHO, Geneva)
  • Nuffic Fellowship Program – Tailor Made Training (NFP – TM)
    Fauziah Rabbani (PI)
    September 2013
    Tailor-made Training (TMT) on addressing governance, gender, and disasters in a fragile health system (grant awarded by Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands funded by NUFFIC)

Created on:04/26/2016 Last modified:04/01/2026

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