Depression Screening Tool: PHQ-9 Test description

The Depression Screening Tool: PHQ-9 Test app is based on the current American Psychiatric Association’s gold standard in depression testing. The PHQ-9 is one of the most validated tools in the field of mental health and is widely used by physicians and psychiatrists in both diagnosing and monitoring patient response to treatments. The test is based on the criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for major depressive disorder.

Advantages of the PHQ-9:
• Shorter than other depression rating scales
• Can be administered in person by a clinician, by telephone, or self-administered
• Facilitates diagnosis of major depression
• Provides assessment of symptom severity
• Is well validated and documented in a variety of populations
• Can be used in adolescents as young as 12 years of age

Research has shown that certain scores on the PHQ-9 are strongly correlated with a subsequent major depression diagnosis. However, not everyone with an elevated PHQ-9 is certain to have major depression. The PHQ-9 is intended as a tool to assist clinicians with identifying and diagnosing depression but is not a substitute for diagnosis by a trained clinician.

The PHQ-9 is a multipurpose instrument for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and measuring the severity of depression: The PHQ-9 incorporates DSM-IV depression diagnostic criteria with other leading major depressive symptoms into a brief self-report tool.

Depression Severity: 0-4 none, 5-9 mild, 10-14 moderate, 15-19 moderately severe, 20-27 severe. Validity has been assessed against an independent structured mental health professional (MHP) interview. PHQ-9 score ≥10 had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 88% for major depression.

PHQ-9 total score for the nine items ranges from 0 to 27. ... Scores of 5, 10, 15, and 20 represent cut points for mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression, respectively. Sensitivity to change has also been confirmed.

This brief simple test is the one that psychiatrists rely on the most in diagnosing clinical depression. So download the app and take the test and see if you may be suffering with clinical depression.