Dr Rabeea'H Waseem Aslam

(she/her)

MBBS MSc

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

This section is divided into A) Research group, B) Research work, C) Publications (complete list)

A) Research Group

I sit within, 

a) Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer) at Cardiff University. (https://decipher.uk.net/)

b)  Exeter-Cardiff-Birmingham Public Health Review team.

B) Research work

1.   Research in mental health with young people

I have a strong commitment and expertise in addressing child and adolescent mental health issues, particularly within global and multicultural contexts. In 2017, I supervised a PhD student who developed a protocol for a systematic review on the early identification and intervention for distress in school-aged children (ages 5-18), specifically addressing mild to moderate distress. As a reviewer for the Public Health Review group, I am examining the impact of digital health interventions on young people, particularly underserved groups, focusing on mental health, substance use, and sexual health. As a Research Consultant, I developed a Continuous Professional Development course for Kenyan clinicians on suicide and self-harm, specifically targeting issues that disproportionately affect adolescents. This role provided me with the opportunity to contribute to the capacity-building of healthcare professionals to better understand and support for adults and young people struggling with severe emotional distress. My ongoing work as a co-supervisor for a Professional Doctorate in Health Studies includes exploring the use of motivational Interviewing by liaison mental health nurses to improve treatment participation for seriously mentally ill patients. This project highlights my continued commitment to improving the mental health outcomes of young people, particularly those facing severe and persistent mental health challenges. Additionally, I continue to supervise Master’s of Public Health dissertations on topics related to child and adolescent mental health. This includes projects focusing on psychosocial interventions for young refugees and asylum seekers and understanding the impact of vaccination barriers for young children.  My work on the SaFE (Sexual health and Relationship Education in Further Education) intervention aimed to optimise and refine an intervention through a multi-stage iterative process involving consultations and focus groups to reduce dating and relationship violence and sexual harassment.

I have also succeeded in getting a Cardiff University Postgraduate Psychology Student Placement and an On-campus Student Internship focused on understanding psychosis in young people across Brazil, Peru, and the UK. Both projects involve in-depth qualitative research and are part of my broader efforts to explore mental health issues among adolescents in diverse international contexts. Both these internships will provide an overview of the mental health systems in these three countries, specifically focusing on the care pathways, resource availability, and the sociocultural factors that affect the diagnosis and treatment of psychosis in adolescents. The situation analysis will allow us to map out key differences in healthcare systems, access to mental health services, and the role of family and community in supporting young people with psychosis. I have also mentored a student through the Cardiff University Research Opportunities Placement (CUROP) scheme, guiding them in developing a protocol for a systematic review focused on interventions for youth victims of criminal exploitation in Latin America. 

2.   Research in mental health with adults

 As a Research Fellow on the HORIZON EU project UPSIDES (Using Peer Support in Developing Empowering Mental Health Services) project, I successfully conducted research across multiple sites and stakeholders in five countries. I was a co-applicant and led the evidence synthesis for an NIHR-funded feasibility and pilot study evaluating a psychosocial intervention delivered by lay workers for asylum seekers and refugees to improve their mental well-being. I successfully managed and supervised four researchers in conducting a comprehensive review to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Project Management Plus (PM+), a WHO-recommended intervention. At the London School of Economics, I conducted the economic evaluation of the UK mental health policy for alcohol addiction in primary care, which directly contributed to influencing UK mental health policy.

Additionally, I succeeded in co-authoring the Royal College of Psychiatrists Policy Briefing on the Parity of Esteem, advocating for equal prioritisation of mental and physical health services. I also held a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at Queen Mary, University of London, where I collaborated on the NIHR-HTA funded THERACOM project. I successfully conducted a systematic review of interventions aimed at improving therapeutic communication between black and minority ethnicity patients and professionals in psychiatric care. This research highlighted the significance of empowerment and motivational interviewing as key elements of effective therapeutic relationships.

3.    Methodological expertise

I am currently a part of the NIHR public health reviews team, where we use innovative systematic review methods to understand pertinent research areas identified by the funder. I am also conducting a process evaluation of nurses in outreach programs for people who are without a stable home. I was also the main researcher for the Evaluation of an Emergency Department Violence Intervention Programme Evaluation (EDVIPE). In this role, I led the evaluation of two Violence Prevention Teams operating in Emergency Departments for a year, employing a methodologically rigorous controlled longitudinal natural experiment design, using anonymised linked data. I have also been the Study Manager for multiple complex projects, including STRETCHED (STRategies to manage Emergency ambulance Telephone Callers with sustained High needs - an Evaluation using linked Data) and HEAR 2 (Health Experiences of Asylum seekers and Refugees). In these roles, I successfully managed all aspects of the projects, from submissions to regulatory bodies (Health Research Authority, Research Ethics Committee, Confidentiality Advisory Group, NHS Digital Data Access Request Service) to interviews, stakeholder events, and engagement with public advisory members. I also oversaw the development of the data items table and collection of this data, as well as the management of four research paramedics across participating ambulance services.

Previously, I was a Senior Research Fellow at the Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group, where I led teams in conducting methodologically diverse systematic reviews. I encouraged the integration of quantitative, qualitative, and realist synthesis methods to ensure comprehensive, context-sensitive evidence synthesis. I was also involved in clinical and cost-effectiveness reviews of health technologies for the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme, commissioned by NICE. A particular highlight of my methodological expertise was my role as lead reviewer for the INTERUPT project. This was a methodologically innovative mixed-methods review involving meta-analysis, subgroup analyses, realist synthesis, and thematic analysis to answer complex questions regarding repeat unintended pregnancies among young mothers. Additionally, I worked as a Mixed Methods Researcher at the University of Liverpool for the North-West Connected Health Cities (CHC) programme, funded by the Department of Health and the Northern Health Science Alliance. I conducted qualitative research exploring how NHS and other data could be utilised to provide actionable information to front-line staff, enhancing point-of-care decisions and identifying opportunities to improve safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. Notably, I led the intervention development of projects focused on follow-up care in gynaecological cancer (TOPCAT G), generating one Cochrane systematic review protocol.

Stakeholder engagement, including involvement of the patient public involvement and engagement in research has been a critical element throughout my career. I have successfully organised and led engagement with expert panels, service user groups, and public advisory members, translating complex research outputs to varied audiences and incorporating their feedback. For instance, in the THERACOM project, I prioritised capturing patients' lived experiences, highlighting the gap between evidence production and implementation, particularly in the context of evidence-based medicine.

Teaching

Teaching

2025 - current Facilitating short courses on Process Evaluation, Adapting Intervention to New Contexts, Feasibility Studies, Development, Evaluation, Adaptation and Implementation in DECIPHer 

2024 to 2025 Lead for Global Health Module 24/25-MET410 Global Health on the Master’s in Public Health (MEDIC), Cardiff University.

2024 Lecture – Mental health for people seeking asylum and refuge on the Master’s in Public Health (MEDIC), Cardiff University.

2024 Lecture on Global programmes and policies in mental health, for Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health Summer School – Cardiff University.

2017 to 2023  Lecture on Critiquing Quality in Qualitative Research, for third-year Doctorate in Clinical Psychology students at the University of Liverpool.

2020 to  2022 Lecture on Current Debates in Global Mental Health, for BSc Global Health - Imperial College London.

2021   Seminar lead in the Design & Evaluation of Mental Health Programme module for the MSc Global Mental Health for,

• integrating mental health into primary health care.
• design and evaluation of a mental health and psychosocial support programme for refugees in Lebanon.

2017 to  2016 Lecture on Introduction to Systematic Reviews, for first year Doctorate in Clinical Psychology - University of Liverpool.

2013   Lecture on Therapeutic Communication in Culturally Diverse Populations, in Continuous Professional Development course on Global Mental Health and Cultural Psychiatry - Queen Mary, University of London.

2007 to 2009 Peer-teaching, I mentored several juniors from my medical school during their studies, examinations and postgraduate examinations.

2007 to 2009 Medical Student Bedside Teaching, focusing on history taking and clinical examination.

Assessment

• Marking for Global health Module
• Marking of undergraduate and post-graduate thesis

Biography

I am a medically trained academic dedicated to advancing mental health equity through innovative research focused on underserved communities, including young people, people experiencing street homelessness, people seeking asylum and refuge, and racialised minorities.

My work spans adolescent mental health, migration, cultural psychiatry, and global health, aiming to develop scalable, inclusive solutions.

 I lead projects on early intervention in psychosis, mentor scholars, and train future professionals. With over £888,000 in funding, my research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally.

 I co-lead the Cardiff University Global Health Network and serve on ethics and inclusivity committees. This is driven by  commitment to social justice and transformative care.

Education

MSc Health Policy, Planning, and Financing
London School of Economics & Political Science / London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (joint degree)

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery 
Sindh Medical College, University of Karachi

Honours and awards

Successful grant applications

2025: £2,258.00, Cardiff University. Lead. 8-week: Understanding psychosis in Brazil, Peru, UK

2024 to 2025: £1,995.00, Learned Society of Wales. Chief Investigator. Co-developing improved access to psychosocial interventions and social prescribing in the community for people seeking refuge and asylum in the UK, Chile, and Ghana (HOPE).

2023: £2,258.00, Cardiff University Research Opportunities Placement scheme CUROP. Lead. Systematic review protocol: Interventions addressing the mental health of youth as victims or at the end of criminal exploitation in Latin America.

2023: £1,000.00, Cardiff University Taith. Lead. Approval for travel and associated costs to develop project on adolescent mental health in Brazil.

2022 to 2023: £10,000.00, The Tropical Health Education Trust (THET). Co-Principal Investigator. Evaluation of diaspora volunteering in Kenya.

2022 to 2023: £10,000.00, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. Co-Principal Investigator. Delivery of three continuous professional development modules on depression, substance use, and self-harm & suicide to frontline healthcare professionals, and the formation of clinical reference teams in Kenya.

2020 to 2022: £229,988.00, Health and Care Research Wales RfPPB. Co-Principal Investigator. Evaluation of interpretation services for asylum seekers & refugees in primary and emergency care (HEAR2).

2020: £760.00, Swansea University. Lead. Support for students to complete undergraduate thesis in Bachelor of Science.

2018 to 2020: £543,069.17, National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Project: 17/44/42. Co-Principal Investigator. Feasibility study and pilot trial of an evidence-based low-intensity psychosocial intervention delivered by lay therapists for asylum seekers and refugees (PROSPER).

2015 to 2016: £87,500.00, National Institute for Health Research Project: 15/67/01. Chief Investigator. Automated tests for cognitive impairment.

Academic positions

May 2024 - present

Systematic reviewer (SOCSI) & Lead for module on Global Health 24/25 (MEDIC)

January 2023 
Study Manager
School of Dentistry
Cardiff University

Collaborative National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) on the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of a Clinical Violence Prevention Team Based in the Emergency Department

October 2022 – February 2023    
Research Consultant
Developed a Continuous Professional Development course for Kenyan clinicians on Suicide and Self-harm.
Developed the evaluation strategy for a scheme on diaspora volunteering in Kenya.

April  2019 to September 2022
Study Manager & Researcher
Swansea University Medical School 

Collaborative National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme on strategies to manage emergency ambulance telephone callers with sustained high needs in England & Wales
Collaborative Health & Care Research Wales project with Public Health Wales on evaluating interpretation services for refugees and asylum seekers when accessing health services

May 2020 to April 2021
Research Fellow in Global Mental Health
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Collaborative European Union’s Horizon 2020 project on replicating and scaling-up peer support interventions for people with severe mental illness, generating evidence of sustainable best practices in the high-, middle- and low-resource settings through mixed-methods implementation research.
Review of the literature on the relationship of global mental health and power with colleagues in the Centre for Global Mental Health

April  2019 to April 2021 
Honorary Research Fellow
Department of Biostatistics 
University of Liverpool

April 2017 to March 2019
Mixed-methods Researcher
Department of Biostatistics 
University of Liverpool

Collaborative Department of Health programme, the overarching aim for Connected Health Cities is to explore ways to use NHS and other data to make actionable information available to front-line staff.

April 2015 to March 2017    
Senior Research Fellow
Liverpool Review and Implementation Group
University of Liverpool

Collaborative NIHR-funded diagnostic review on automated tests for cognitive impairment. 
Single Technology Assessment (STA) for melanoma and lung cancer drugs

Sept 2013 to March 2015  
Systematic Reviewer (Research Officer)
North Wales Organisation for Randomised Trials in Health & Social Care 
Bangor University

Collaborative NIHR-HTA funded systematic review with Cardiff University and the University of Sheffield on Intervention Now To Eliminate Repeat Unintended Pregnancies in Teenagers. 
Intervention development: a)     TOPCAT – G, b)    CHARISMA II 

Feb 2012 to Aug 2013    
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Centre for Psychiatry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Queen Mary, University of London     

Collaborative NIHR-HTA funded systematic review with the University of Warwick, De Montfort University and the Afiya Trust Therapeutic Communications in Black and Minority Ethnic Populations: a synthesis of the evidence base.
Policy brief on Parity of Esteem between physical and mental health briefing prepared for the Royal College of Psychiatrists

July 2010 to Nov 2010      
Research Assistant 
LSE Health, London School of Economics & Political Science
Project on Screening and brief intervention in primary care for alcohol misuse     

March 2002
Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi
Research Assistant     
Project on recording hepatitis B and C occurrence for a registry                                                                                     

Committees and reviewing

• Current member of the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences Research Ethics committee.
• Peer reviewer for Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council (UK) and National Institute of Health Research Studies (UK).
• Peer-reviewer for several journals, including BMC Medicine, BMJ, Systematic Reviews, Conflict and Health

Supervisions

I contribute to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and supervision.

for example,

1. I am currently supervising two professional doctorates in health inequalities.
2.  
3. I have supervised Master’s in Public Health dissertations at Cardiff University on topics including psychosocial interventions for refugees, suicide and self-harm in the global majority, and barriers to vaccination uptake in young children.
4.  
5. Full undergraduate thesis supervision on a qualitative study to understand the barriers and facilitators to access emergency care by asylum seekers and refugees.
6.  
7. Full supervision of undergraduate thesis on the process of conducting a stakeholder event for vulnerable groups
8.  
9. Supported the supervision of PhD student's systematic reviews
10.  
11. I also mentor and supervise junior researchers and clinicians