Assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a solution-focused resource-orientated approach (DIALOG+) to improving the quality of life for people with psychosis in India and Pakistan-a cluster RCT.

Background: Severe mental illness (SMI) presents a major challenge worldwide, affecting approximately 5-8% of the world's population. It causes significant distress to affected people, families and wider communities, generating high costs through loss of productivity and ongoing healthcare use. Over 75% of patients with psychosis receive inadequate care and experience a negative financial impact and reduced quality of life (QoL).

Understanding global mental health: a conceptual review.

Background: Mental health disorders are viewed as a global concern requiring globally led approaches to address them. Since the publication of the 2007 series on global mental health (GMH), the term has become widespread. Over the last two decades, GMH has become increasingly affiliated with policy reform, academic courses, funding bodies and research.

Self-Diagnosis of Surgical Site Infections: Lessons from a tertiary care centre in Karachi, Pakistan.

Background And Objective: Surgical site infections (SSIs) usually manifest post-discharge, rendering accurate diagnosis and treatment challenging, thereby catalyzing the development of alternate strategies like self-monitored SSI surveillance. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of patients and Infection Control Monitors (ICMs) to develop a replicable method of SSI-detection.

Methods: A two-year prospective diagnostic accuracy study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan between 2015 and 2017.

Job morale of physicians in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review of qualitative studies.

Objectives: To systematically review the available literature on physicians' and dentists' experiences influencing job motivation, job satisfaction, burnout, well-being and symptoms of depression as indicators of job morale in low-income and middle-income countries.

Design: The review was reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for studies evaluating outcomes of interest using qualitative methods. The framework method was used to analyse and integrate review findings.

Resource-oriented interventions for patients with severe mental illnesses in low- and middle-income countries: trials in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda.

Background: Severe mental illness (SMI) presents a major burden to societies worldwide. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often do not have sufficient financial resources and qualified staff to provide extensive specialised services for outpatients with SMI. Our research therefore aims to explore and test low-cost interventions that use existing resources in routine patient-clinician meetings, families and communities.

Community-based assessment of surgical symptoms in a low-income urban population.

Background: The global burden of surgical disease has not been well quantified, but is potentially immense. Given the enormity of the problem and the relative paucity of data, definition and monitoring of surgical burden of disease is an essential step in confronting the problem. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of non-acute surgical disease symptoms in a low-income population.

Harnessing Photovoice for tuberculosis advocacy in Karachi, Pakistan.

In Pakistan, despite publically available free testing and treatment throughout the country, there were an estimated 58,000 deaths due to tuberculosis in 2010. Understanding the experiences of people affected by TB is essential in addressing barriers to effective treatment. The Indus Hospital used Photovoice to understand the experiences of people affected by TB in Karachi.

Barriers to accessing surgical care: a cross-sectional survey conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: The need for surgical care far exceeds available facilities, especially in low income and poor countries. Limited data are available to help us understand the extent and nature of barriers that limit access to surgical care, particularly in the Asian subcontinent. The aim of this study was to understand factors that influence access to surgical care in a low-income urban population.

The burden of non-communicable disease in transition communities in an Asian megacity: baseline findings from a cohort study in Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: The demographic transition in South Asia coupled with unplanned urbanization and lifestyle changes are increasing the burden of non-communicable disease (NCD) where infectious diseases are still highly prevalent. The true magnitude and impact of this double burden of disease, although predicted to be immense, is largely unknown due to the absence of recent, population-based longitudinal data. The present study was designed as a unique 'Framingham-like' Pakistan cohort with the objective of measuring the prevalence and risk factors for hypertension, obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease and hepatitis B and C infection in a multi-ethnic, middle to low income population of Karachi, Pakistan.

Breast cancer in Pakistan: identifying local beliefs and knowledge.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of women and general practitioners (GPs) living in Karachi, Pakistan, regarding breast cancer, mammographic screening, and local barriers to breast health care.

Methods: This study was performed using questionnaires designed specifically for women and for GPs in Karachi. Geographically dispersed collaborators identified GPs from neighborhoods across Karachi; snowball sampling located additional GPs and women in neighboring areas.