Role of Pakistani Universities in Interfaith Dialogue, Harmony and Relations An Index and Bibliometric of Produced Academic Dissertations

Interfaith dialogue has become one of the most significant and interesting activities in contemporary socio-political and socio-religious global scenario due to its crucial role in the peace process and peaceful interfaith relations. Many groups of scholars, institutes, organizations, and even governments are promoting the activities regarding interfaith relations. Meanwhile, it is also assumed that Pakistan is one of the countries where interfaith dialogue activities are arranged officially on the state level. In this study, efforts are made to review statistically and to index the literature produced by Pakistani scholars and universities. A mixed-method research methodology is adopted for this study with a bibliometric approach to find out results. Almost 136 theses & dissertations have been produced by scholars in a wide range of Pakistani Universities on interfaith Dialogue, religious debates, harmony, and relations. The research produced by male scholars was 71 (52.21 %) and most 49 (36%) productive era was from 2011 to 2015. The majority of the research was for Master (38%) and MS/M.Phil (34%) level degrees and about one-fifth of the theses were on the theme of “Interfaith Dialogue in Pakistani context”. Therefore, it is suggested that the course on interfaith dialogue, harmony, and relations should be taught at M. Phil and Ph.D. Level in the discipline of Islamic studies and social sciences

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5-(4-Fluoro­phen­yl)-5-methyl­imidazolidine-2,4-dione

In the title compound, C10H9FN2O2, the dihedral angle between the hydantoin unit and the benzene ring is 65.55 (5)°. The atoms in the hydantoin ring are coplanar, with a mean deviation of 0.015 Å and a maximum deviation of 0.075 (2) Å for one carbonyl O atom. N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into one-dimensional chains, with one carbonyl group acting as a bifurcated acceptor and the other accepting no hydrogen bonds

Technology-assisted peer therapy: a new way of delivering evidence-based psychological interventions

In low-income settings, ninety percent of individuals with clinical depression have no access to evidence-based psychological interventions. Reasons include lack of funds for specialist services, scarcity of trained mental health professionals, and the stigma attached to mental illness. In recent years there have been many studies demonstrating effective delivery of psychological interventions through a variety of non-specialists. While these interventions are cost-effective and less stigmatising, efforts to scale-up are hampered by issues of quality-control, and what has been described by implementation scientists as ‘voltage-drop’ and ‘programme-drift.’ Using principles of Human Centred Design in a rural setting in Pakistan, we worked with potential users to co-design a Tablet or Smartphone-based App that can assist a lay-person deliver the Thinking Healthy Programme, a World Health Organization-endorsed evidence-based intervention for perinatal depression. The active ingredients of this cognitive-therapy based intervention are delivered by a virtual ‘avatar’ therapist incorporated into the App which is operated by a ‘peer’ (a woman from the neighbourhood with no prior experience of healthcare delivery). Using automated cues from the App, the peer reinforces key therapeutic messages, helps with problem-solving and provides the non-specific but essential therapeutic elements of empathy and support. The peer and App therefore act as co-therapists in delivery of the intervention. The peer can deliver the intervention with good fidelity after brief automated in-built training. This approach has the potential to be applied to other areas of mental health and help bridge the treatment gap, especially in resource-poor settings. This paper describes the process of co-development with end-users and key features of the App

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women with Perinatal Anxiety Symptoms in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on people with existing mental health conditions is likely to be high. We explored the consequences of the pandemic on women of lower socioeconomic status with prenatal anxiety symptoms living in urban Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This qualitative study was embedded within an ongoing randomized controlled trial of psychosocial intervention for prenatal anxiety at a public hospital in Rawalpindi. The participants were women with symptoms of anxiety who had received or were receiving the intervention. In total, 27 interviews were conducted; 13 women were in their third trimester of pregnancy, and 14 were in their postnatal period. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using framework analysis. Key findings were that during the pandemic, women experienced increased perinatal anxiety that was linked to greater financial problems, uncertainties over availability of appropriate obstetric healthcare, and a lack of trust in health professionals. Women experienced increased levels of fear for their own and their baby’s health and safety, especially due to fear of infection. COVID-19 appears to have contributed to symptoms of anxiety in women already predisposed to anxiety in the prenatal period. Efforts to address women’s heightened anxiety due to the pandemic are likely to have public health benefits.</jats:p

Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Pregnancy Experience Scale-Brief version (PES-Brief) in Pakistani women with antenatal anxiety symptoms.

BackgroundPregnancy 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.MethodsA two-step process was used including 1) adaptation via translation/back-translation followed by cognitive interviewing with 10 participants and 2) factor analysis and validation with 605 women in Rawalpindi Pakistan who had mild-moderate symptoms of anxiety, attended the antenatal clinic, and were ≤22 weeks of gestation and ≥18 years old. We calculated internal consistency and reliability and conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.ResultsCultural adaptation led to inclusion of one item of the hassles subscale and exclusion of one item in the uplifts subscale, resulting in 9 uplifts and 11 hassles. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure, with the adapted items exhibiting loading values of ≥0.24 for their respective factors. Internal consistency was demonstrated for uplifts (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89) and hassles (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85) subscales. Uplift intensity was moderately correlated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety subscale (r = 0.54, 95% CI:0.30-0.77).ConclusionThe Urdu PES-Brief is a reliable and valid tool for use in Pakistani pregnant women with antenatal anxiety. Future studies on its validity are needed on women without symptoms anxiety