In efforts to improve maternal mental health in Pakistan, faculty and research experts at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery are jointly collaborating with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a country-wide social safety initiative by the government of Pakistan, to advocate for Life-Skills Building (LSB) initiatives in women. The study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the umbrella of a larger project Umeed-e-Nau.
In the first phase of the study, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews were conducted throughout Pakistan to identify change-agents and the perception of communities regarding such initiatives. FGDs included BISP beneficiary couples, or couples belonging to similar socio-economic status across the four provinces. For the key informant interviews, BISP Beneficiary Committee members, provincial/district BISP representatives, social mobilisers, community workers, and healthcare professionals were included.
The study identified men’s involvement and engagement to be crucial in empowering women to partake in building life skills and other initiatives for their improved physical and mental well-being. Moreover, this research also developed a nation-wide LSB module to be implemented at a later stage.
SONAM’s Assistant Dean of Research, Dr Tazeen Saeed Ali and Dean Dr Rozina Karmaliani are the Co-Principal Investigators of this project that is still underway.
The outcome of phase one of the study “Community Stakeholders’ Perspectives regarding Acceptability of a Life Skill Building Intervention to Empower Women in Pakistan,” has been published and awarded the Research in Nursing & Health’s Best Paper Award for the year 2020-2021, after being shortlisted from a competitive pool of research papers from across the world.
Read the paper >>
In efforts to improve maternal mental health in Pakistan, faculty and research experts at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery are jointly collaborating with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a country-wide social safety initiative by the government of Pakistan, to advocate for Life-Skills Building (LSB) initiatives in women. The study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the umbrella of a larger project Umeed-e-Nau.
In the first phase of the study, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews were conducted throughout Pakistan to identify change-agents and the perception of communities regarding such initiatives. FGDs included BISP beneficiary couples, or couples belonging to similar socio-economic status across the four provinces. For the key informant interviews, BISP Beneficiary Committee members, provincial/district BISP representatives, social mobilisers, community workers, and healthcare professionals were included.
The study identified men’s involvement and engagement to be crucial in empowering women to partake in building life skills and other initiatives for their improved physical and mental well-being. Moreover, this research also developed a nation-wide LSB module to be implemented at a later stage.
SONAM’s Assistant Dean of Research, Dr Tazeen Saeed Ali and Dean Dr Rozina Karmaliani are the Co-Principal Investigators of this project that is still underway.
The outcome of phase one of the study “Community Stakeholders’ Perspectives regarding Acceptability of a Life Skill Building Intervention to Empower Women in Pakistan,” has been published and awarded the Research in Nursing & Health’s Best Paper Award for the year 2020-2021, after being shortlisted from a competitive pool of research papers from across the world.
Read the paper >>