Behavioural Activation for Depression in Diabetes Care: A Step Forward at Indus Hospital

Renowned mental health and public health experts, including Prof. Najma Siddiqi (Psychiatrist, Hull York Medical School, University of York, UK) and Prof. Kamran Siddiqi (Professor of Public Health, University of York), visited the Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) to advance the integration of mental health support into diabetes care.

The visit focused on the implementation of Behavioural Activation— a brief, culturally adapted psychological intervention for depression — at the Indus Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. The initiative builds on the success of the DiaDeM project, which demonstrated the effectiveness of BA in reducing depression among people with diabetes in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Prof. Abdul Basit, Director of IDEC, highlighted the urgent need for mental health services, noting that 30–40% of Pakistan’s 33 million people with diabetes also suffer from depression, yet access to mental health care remains limited.

Key aspects of the proposed implementation at Indus Hospital include:

Training non-specialist staff in depression screening and BA delivery

Integrating BA into routine diabetes care pathways

Evaluating both patient and staff experiences to guide future scale-up

This initiative marks a vital step toward holistic, integrated NCD care in Pakistan — bridging the gap between physical and mental health in resource-limited settings.