Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Abstract #271
A Social Support Intervention to Improve Resilience Among Pakistani Women: A Proposed Randomized Controlled Trial
Presenter: Saima Hirani Co - Presenters: Gerri Lasiuk, Colleen Norris  
Abstract:
Women’s mental health is a global health concern given the burden of mental disorders on individual women and negative implications for children and families. Like other developing countries, Pakistan’s mental health resources are inadequate to provide tertiary services for those in need. This situation calls for a paradigm shift away from symptom reduction and toward mental health promotion. There is a need for innovative interventions that are low cost, feasible, gender sensitive, and can be implemented at the primary health care level. Resilience has been associated with improved mental health and emotional well-being. Although there are clear relationships among social support, resilience, and mental health, they have not yet been tested in the Pakistani. The proposed randomized controlled trial will test a social support intervention to enhance resilience among disadvantaged women in Karachi, Pakistan. The randomly allocated intervention group will receive a 6-week social support intervention delivered by a community health worker, while the control group will receive a sham intervention. . Measures of resilience and quality of life will be compared at baseline and post-intervention. The results of the study will advance our understanding of the associations among resilience, social support, and mental health promotion in the developing world.