Atıf Rahman
Biographic Data
| ID | 3581869 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Atıf Rahman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Atıf |
| FAMILY NAME | Rahman |
| SIGNATURE | RAHMAN A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Liverpool |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2066-4467 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 66 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 66 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
From Global to Local
Background: Medical students frequently experience psychological distress due to intense academic demands and high-stakes assessments.Scalable psychological interventions such as Self-Help Plus (SH+) may support student well-being, but contextual adaptation is required to ensure relevance within medical education.Objective: To adapt the SH+ intervention culturally and contextually for medical students while maintaining the core principles of Acce…
Technology-assisted platform (TAP) for training and supervision of task-shared psychosocial interventions to ensure competency during scale-up in low-resource settings
Common mental disorders are a major public health concern, particularly in low-resource settings where specialist services are limited. While task-shifting to non-specialist providers (NSPs) has improved access, maintaining their competency during scale-up remains a challenge. This study evaluated a technology-assisted platform (TAP) for training and supervision of NSPs delivering the WHO Thinking Healthy Programme (THP) for perinatal depression.…
“ I was told to live happily… without telling me how ”
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Comparing standard and technology-assisted peer-delivered CBT for perinatal depression
The ENHANCE non-inferiority trial that took place in a deprived setting in Pakistan demonstrated that a technology-assisted digital adaptation of the Technology Assisted Thinking Healthy Programme (THP-TAP) was no different than the face-to-face THP in improving symptoms of perinatal depression. The present study examines the mechanisms through which THP-TAP improved symptoms of perinatal depression (or not) compared to the face-to-face THP. We a…
Thinking local, thinking healthy
Background: The thinking healthy program (THP) is an evidence-based psychological intervention for perinatal depression designed for delivery by nonspecialist health workers. To ensure its relevance in Nepal, we adapted THP using the mental health Cultural Adaptation and Contextualization for Implementation (mhCACI) framework. Methods: Using mhCACI’s 10-step process, we applied a participatory approach involving a multidisciplinary team to adapt …
Feasibility and acceptability of community-based psychosocial interventions delivered by nonspecialists for perinatal common mental disorders
Task sharing is endorsed as one of the strategies to address the treatment gap in common perinatal mental health conditions. There is a well-established body of evidence on the effectiveness of psychological interventions delivered by nonspecialist health workers (NSHWs); however, there is a dearth of evidence documenting factors determining the feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of integrating and implementing these interventions. Thi…
The Association of Spousal Relationship Quality and Social Support With Maternal‐Infant Bonding
This study examined associations between spousal relationship quality and social support with mother‐infant bonding among women in Rawalpindi, Pakistan (Intervention Arm: n = 352, M age = 25.1, SD = 4.7; Control Arm: n = 358, M age = 25.3, SD = 4.5). We used cross‐sectional data from the Happy Mother‐Healthy Baby intervention study, a randomized controlled trial conducted between 2019 and 2022. Women were enrolled at their first prenatal visit (a…
The prenatal anxiety trajectory and its correlation with stress and psychological flexibility
The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (Registration number: 2022 - 1436, date:2022.7.4)
Exploring the delivery of empathic care in task-shared settings
Empathy plays a crucial role in psychosocial and psychological interventions, greatly impacting rapport building, patient adherence, and satisfaction with treatment. Empathetic interactions enhance patient’s self-reflection and the delivery of more personalized therapeutic interventions tailored to the unique needs of each patient, thereby improving the overall quality of care. Despite empathy being central to psychosocial interventions, there ar…
Impacts of chronic suicidal ideation on parenting and child development
Maternal suicidality in Pakistan
South Asia has the highest rate of suicide fatalities for women globally. However, the underlying factors and processes that contribute to suicidal behavior among women in Pakistan remain underexplored and existing interventions worldwide are dominated by Western-informed suicide theories. We employed a decolonized form of grounded theory, informed by critical feminist theory and Pakistani feminist scholarship, to explore the experiences of suici…
Exploring preference for delivery methods for a psychosocial intervention for prenatal anxiety
This study underscores the need for adaptable intervention delivery strategies that consider cultural norms, logistical challenges, and individual family dynamics. By combining the benefits of both delivery methods, mental health interventions can be optimized to effectively address prenatal anxiety and promote well-being in resource-constrained settings like Pakistan
Optimizing psychotherapies for perinatal depressive symptom dimensions by strengthening social support networks
The Thinking Healthy Program (THP) is a multicomponent low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy-based psychosocial intervention. This intervention has been shown to be clinically effective in perinatal depression (PND) and feasible for implementation in low-resourced settings. It has also been shown to work universally for different phenotypes of PND. However, the mechanism through which THP resolves different phenotypes of PND are unclear. The…
Multicomponent Behavioural Intervention during Pregnancy to Reduce Home Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke
The multicomponent behavioural intervention was feasible to deliver and was acceptable to the interventionists, pregnant women, and husbands. With the intervention, it was possible to recruit, randomise, and retain pregnant women in Bangladesh and India. The cotinine data will inform sample size calculations for a future definitive trial
Social Support and Spousal Relationship Quality Improves Responsiveness among Anxious Mothers
Predictors of spontaneous remission and recovery among women with untreated perinatal depression in India and Pakistan
Women with low baseline severity may remit from perinatal depression with adequate social support from family and friends. These factors are important contributors to the management of perinatal depression and the prevention of clinical worsening, and should be considered when designing low-threshold psychological interventions
Translation, adaptation, and initial evaluation of a guided self-help intervention to reduce psychological distress among nurses during Covid-19 in China
We found that the translated Chinese version of SH+ was applicable and feasible in the Chinese cultural context. There was a potential effect of adapted SH + in reducing nurses' psychological distress during COVID-19 and suggested the value of exploring strategies to increase adherence to the program
Perceived Social Support and Women’s Empowerment and Their Associations with Pregnancy Experiences in Anxious Women
Empowering the (Extra)Ordinary
Psychological treatments are among the most effective interventions for a wide range of mental health conditions but remain inaccessible to most people who could benefit from them, including in many high-income countries. We describe two case studies from South Asia that demonstrate innovatively designed psychological treatments addressing many of the barriers that limit their scalability. The treatments are brief, less complex, and delivered by …
Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Pregnancy Experience Scale–Brief version (PES-Brief) in Pakistani women with antenatal anxiety symptoms
Background: Pregnancy experiences influence fetal and birth outcomes. There is scarcity of locally validated tools to assess pregnancy experiences. We aimed to validate the Pregnancy Experience Scale-Brief (PES-Brief) in pregnant Pakistani women with anxiety symptoms. Methods: A two-step process was used including 1) adaptation via translation/back-translation followed by cognitive interviewing with 10 participants and 2) factor analysis and vali…
Effects of a maternal psychosocial intervention on hair derived biomarkers of HPA axis function in mothers and children in rural Pakistan
Disruptions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are thought to be key neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in psychopathology and may have intergenerational impacts. Hair-derived HPA hormones offer a measure of long-term HPA axis activity that may be useful in assessing maternal and infant health. Building on a community-based randomized control trial of a perinatal depression intervention in Pakistan, we examine intervention effects o…
Standardising Training of Nurses in an Evidence-Based Psychosocial Intervention for Perinatal Depression
E-training is a promising tool with comparative effectiveness to specialist-led face-to-face training. E-training can be used for training of non-specialists for evidence-based psychosocial interventions at scale and utilized where there is a shortage of specialist trainers, but practice under supervision is necessary to maintain competence. However, continued practice under supervision may be necessary to maintain competence
Preparing for parenthood
BACKGROUND: Socioemotional life-skills to negotiate important life-transitions such as marriage and parenthood are critical for the wellbeing of young couples and their offspring, but programs addressing this issue are lacking in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). OBJECTIVE: This study describes the development of a 'life-skills' program for young married women, their husbands and families, living in rural settings in Pakistan. METHODS: Our…
Does One Treatment Fit All? Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program in Data-Driven Subtypes of Perinatal Depression
Background: Current diagnostic systems of mental disorders are criticized for their poor validity and reliability, owing to the within disorder heterogeneity and between disorder homogeneity. The issue is important if treatments for mental disorders are to be tailored to individual needs. There is little information in this area on perinatal depression (PND), a highly prevalent condition globally. Aims: i) Quantify heterogeneity attributable to t…
Predictors of Prenatal Depression
Objective: To determine the prevalence and association of prenatal depression with socioeconomic, demographic and personal factors among pregnant women living in Kallar Syedan, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods: Five hundred women in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, living in Kallar Syedan, a rural area of district Rawalpindi Pakistan, were included in the study. Depression was assessed using "Patient health questionnaire" (PHQ9) in Urdu,…
Mediated research encounters
Given increasing globalisation, the continuing prevalence of emergencies, and the importance of rigorous research to ensure the mental health needs of populations exposed to emergencies are effectively met, cross-language research will continue to arise. Drawing upon the lead author's experience of conducting a cross-language qualitative study in three post-conflict settings in South Asia, this article discusses methodological considerations rais…
Father involvement in the first year of life
Writing to template
Empowering the (Extra)Ordinary
Psychological treatments are among the most effective interventions for a wide range of mental health conditions but remain inaccessible to most people who could benefit from them, including in many high-income countries. We describe two case studies from South Asia that demonstrate innovatively designed psychological treatments addressing many of the barriers that limit their scalability. The treatments are brief, less complex, and delivered by …
Effect of maternal mental health on infant growth in low income countries
Impaired infant growth, a major problem in South Asia, may require interventions to improve maternal mental health in addition to current interventions targeting infant nutrition Unicef estimates that over 220 million children aged less than 5 years in the developing world have significantly impaired growth. 1 The South Asian region is perhaps worst affected, being home to more than half of all the underweight children in the world. 2 This articl…
Impact of Maternal Depression on Infant Nutritional Status and Illness
BACKGROUND: The risk for emotional and behavioral problems is known to be high among children of depressed mothers, but little is known about the impact of prenatal and postnatal depression on the physical health of infants. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether maternal depression is a risk factor for malnutrition and illness in infants living in a low-income country. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Rural community in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. …
No health without mental health
Cognitive behaviour therapy-based intervention by community health workers for mothers with depression and their infants in rural Pakistan
Maternal common mental disorder and infant growth – a cross‐sectional study from Malawi
The objective of the study was to investigate the association between maternal common mental disorder (CMD) and infant growth in rural Malawi. A cross-sectional study was conducted at a district hospital child health clinic. Participants were consecutive infants due for measles vaccination, and their mothers. Mean infant weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores were compared between infants of mothers with and without CMD as measured using the …
Inequality in early childhood
Child and adolescent mental health worldwide
Building capacity in mental health interventions in low resource countries
BACKGROUND: Recent global mental health research suggests that mental health interventions can be adapted for use across cultures and in low resource environments. As evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of certain specific interventions begins to accumulate, guidelines are needed for how to train, supervise, and ideally sustain mental health treatment delivery by local providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). MODEL AND CAS…
Using cognitive‐behavioural techniques to improve exclusive breastfeeding in a low‐literacy disadvantaged population
Despite being an important component of Pakistan's primary health care programme, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months remain among the lowest in the world. Low levels of literacy in women and deeply held cultural beliefs and practices have been found to contribute to the ineffectiveness of routine counselling delivered universally by community health workers in Pakistan. We aimed to address this by incorporating techniques of cogniti…
Effects of perinatal mental disorders on the fetus and child
Translation, cultural adaptation and field-testing of the Thinking Healthy Program for Vietnam
BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are prevalent among women in low- and lower-middle income countries who are pregnant or have recently given birth. There is promising evidence that culturally-adapted, evidence-informed, perinatal psycho-educational programs implemented in local communities are effective in reducing mental health problems. The Thinking Healthy Program (THP) has proved effective in Pakistan. The aims were to adapt the THP for rur…
Detecting Depression in Pregnancy
Underage drinking in the UK
The UK is a high prevalence country for underage alcohol use. We conducted an evidence synthesis to examine (1) the changing trends in underage drinking in the UK compared to Europe and the USA, (2) the impact of underage drinking in terms of hospital admissions, (3) the association between underage drinking and violent youth offending, and (4) the evidence base for the effectiveness of alcohol harm reduction interventions aimed at children and a…
Problem Management Plus (PM+)
Mental disorders are significant contributors to the global burden of disease (1). While they occur across all levels of socio-economic status, the majority of populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not have access to effective psychological and pharmacological interventions (2). Key barriers to sustainable delivery of psychological therapies in LMICs include limited mental health funding and infrastructure, chronic shortage o…
Adapting an evidence-based intervention for autism spectrum disorder for scaling up in resource-constrained settings
BACKGROUND: Evidence-based interventions for autism spectrum disorders evaluated in high-income countries typically require highly specialised manpower, which is a scarce resource in most low- and middle-income settings. This resource limitation results in most children not having access to evidence-based interventions. OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on the systematic adaptation of an evidence-based intervention, the Preschool Autism Communication…
Psychological distress and its associations with past events in pregnant women affected by armed conflict in Swat, Pakistan
This is one of the first community based cross sectional surveys in Swat valley, Pakistan to assess the prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy in an area affected by conflict. Over a third of women show evidence of significant psychological distress. Exposure to potentially traumatic events remained independently associated with psychological distress 1 year after conflict ended, suggesting that conflict exposure may have long-term…
The impact of perinatal depression on exclusive breastfeeding
Perinatal depression is associated with infant undernutrition. We hypothesised that perinatal depression was associated with early cessation of exclusive breastfeeding and reduced quantity of breast milk in rural Pakistan. We used a prospective cohort design to study a population-based sample of 132 depressed and 147 non-depressed women from the third trimester of pregnancy to 6 months post-natal. Current major depressive episode was measured in …
Highlighting the evidence gap
There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of early childhood interventions to improve the growth and development of children. Although, historically, nutrition and stimulation interventions may have been delivered separately, they are increasingly being tested as a package of early childhood interventions that synergistically improve outcomes over the life course. However, implementation at scale is seldom possible without first considering …
Managing Ethical Challenges to Mental Health Research in Post‐Conflict Settings
Recently the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has highlighted the need to strengthen mental health systems following emergencies, including natural and manmade disasters. Mental health services need to be informed by culturally attuned evidence that is developed through research. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish rigorous ethical research practice to underpin the evidence‐base for mental health services delivered during and followi…
The impact of maternal diet fortification with lipid‐based nutrient supplements on postpartum depression in rural Malawi
Perinatal depression is highly prevalent in low-and-middle-income countries and has been linked to poor child health. Suboptimal maternal nutrition may be a risk factor for perinatal depression. In this randomised-controlled trial conducted in rural Malawi, we set out to test the hypothesis that women taking a fatty acid-rich lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS) would have fewer depressive symptoms postpartum than those taking iron-folate (IFA) …
He Doesn’t Listen to My Words at All, So I Don’t Tell Him Anything”—A Qualitative Investigation on Exposure to Second Hand Smoke among Pregnant Women, Their Husbands and Family Members from Rural Bang…
Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy is associated with poor pregnancy and fetal outcomes. To design interventions to reduce exposure, an in depth understanding of social and cultural factors of smoking behavior at home is important, especially in South Asia where SHS exposure is high. This study aimed to explore pregnant women's, their husbands' and other family members' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding home SHS exposure…
Prioritizing research for integrated implementation of early childhood development and maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition platforms
BACKGROUND: Existing health and nutrition services present potential platforms for scaling up delivery of early childhood development (ECD) interventions within sensitive windows across the life course, especially in the first 1000 days from conception to age 2 years. However, there is insufficient knowledge on how to optimize implementation for such strategies in an integrated manner. In light of this knowledge gap, we aimed to systematically id…
Ethical standards for mental health and psychosocial support research in emergencies
BACKGROUND: Research in emergencies is needed to understand the prevalence of mental health and psychosocial problems and strengthen the evidence base for interventions. All research - including operational needs assessments, programme monitoring and evaluation, and formal academic research - must be conducted ethically. While there is broad consensus on fundamental principles codified in research ethics guidelines, these do not address the ethic…
Evaluating feasibility and acceptability of a local psycho-educational intervention for pregnant women with common mental problems affected by armed conflict in Swat, Pakistan
BACKGROUND: The current research was conducted in the Swat valley, where widespread conflict and militancy had been experienced prior to the field activities. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a locally developed psycho-educational intervention. METHODS: This mixed-methods study incorporated a quantitative and qualitative component. For the quantitative component, trial participants were identified from a …
WHO Parents Skills Training (PST) programme for children with developmental disorders and delays delivered by Family Volunteers in rural Pakistan
Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as Family Networks (FaNs) for Children with Developmental Disorders and Delays. Identifier: NCT02792894 Registered on 6 July 2016
Medicine (52 works) · Psychiatry (45 works) · Psychology (45 works) · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum (34 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (22 works) · Psychological intervention (22 works) · Mental health (21 works) · Nursing (20 works) · Clinical Psychology (18 works) · Environmental health (18 works)