Stepwise school program to help teens with depression in Pakistan
Official title: School based stepped care TrEatment for adolescent depression in Pakistan- a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART-STEP)
Funded at Shifa Tameer-E-Millat University · NIH-11137660 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a stepped school program combining online teacher training and a CBT-based chatbot to help Pakistani adolescents with depression and anxiety.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Shifa Tameer-E-Millat University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Islamabad, Pakistan) |
| Project start | September 14, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $432,104 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH131025-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11137660 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Teenagers enrolled in participating low-resource public schools in Pakistan who are experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Students with severe mental illness needing urgent psychiatric care, those not attending school, or those without access to a smartphone/internet may not benefit from this school-based digital approach.
What this research studies
You and other students in participating public schools would get access to school-based supports: teachers receive online training to recognize and respond to common mental health problems, and students with symptoms can use a self-help chatbot based on cognitive behavioral therapy. The program uses a SMART (adaptive) design that changes the next step of care for young people who do not improve, so treatment is personalized over time. The team built the program from earlier pilots of the teacher training (eSMHP) and the STARS chatbot and will test how to best combine and sequence these supports across schools. The work is run through the SHINE network with implementation in Pakistani public schools.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could expand accessible, school-based mental health support and reduce depression and anxiety among adolescents in Pakistan.
How similar studies have gone: Early pilot work showed the online teacher training and the CBT chatbot are feasible and promising, but using a stepped SMART design to personalize school-based care is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Shifa Tameer-E-Millat University
Islamabad, Pakistan Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hamdani, Syed Usman — Shifa Tameer-E-Millat University
- Study coordinator: Hamdani, Syed Usman
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.