PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) Calculator – Easy to Use Tool

What Is Depression and Why It Matters?

Depression is a typical mental illness that affects your thoughts, routines of sleep, eating habits and everyday behavior. One of the most common and easily treated mental diseases is depression, which is frequently seen by a variety of medical professionals, including primary care doctors, medical and surgical specialists, and mental health experts. Sadness along with a loss of interest in previous hobbies are symptoms of depression. Your performance at work and at home could be affected and it may also lead to a number of mental and physical problems.

What Is the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9)?

A self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic tool for common mental diseases is called the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9). It helps to keep track of how severe depression is and how well therapy is working. In at-risk groups, such as those with coronary heart disease or those who have recently experienced a stroke, it can be utilized to make a preliminary diagnosis of depression.

Questionnaire of PHQ-9

• A lack of enjoyment or enthusiasm in activities.
• Having a bad, sad, or hopeless feeling.
• Sleeping too much or having trouble remaining asleep.
• Having little energy or feeling exhausted.
• Overeating or a poor appetite.
• Having low self-esteem, feeling like a failure, or having let yourself or your family down.
• Difficulty focusing on activities like reading a newspaper or watching television.
• Sluggish movement or speech that would have been obvious to onlookers. Or the reverse, being excessively restless or fidgety, causing you to move more than normal.
• Feelings that harming yourself or dying would be preferable.

Scoring and Interpretation of PHQ-9

When Should You Use the PHQ-9?

One of the most used, popular, efficient method for tracking, diagnosing and identifying depression in people form the age of 13 and above is the PHQ9((Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Mostly is used in detecting depression in early stages, evaluating the symptoms using the DSM-IV criteria. Also, used for to track the response of treatment over the time in both clinical and non-clinical contexts, such as primary care, workplaces and schools. The scores are used from doctors or therapists to monitor the patient’s state, to give the right treatment and to have them in their own care. This tool is very useful in different groups like elderly people, patients that have passed stroke, brain damages and pregnant woman.

Limitations of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9

Being a very helpful tool for determining depression it also have some limitations. People usually don’t speak for their problems and as self-reporting tool can be influenced by this because of disclosing information. Also, it can be prevented by memory and interpretation. Another limitation is that it doesn’t identify or evaluate the cause of the symptoms and may not include the chronic condition. Language barriers and cultural differences have an impact on the responses. Beside the depression, stress and other life situation have their impact on the tool.

Benefits of the PHQ-9 Tool

This tool is a fast, accurate and effective tool for evaluating, diagnosing and tracking depression. It Is helpful in a variety of situations, including general care  and mental health provider. Patient Health Questionnaire provides a clear score that is used for direct therapy and guide treatment. The reason that is an easy to use tool it allows the repeated use in helping the tracking of treatment progress, modifying the care plan, improving interaction between the patients and health providers.