for Health Care Providers
Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)
| Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? | Not at all | Several days | More than half the days | Nearly every day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4. Feeling tired or having little energy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5. Poor appetite or overeating | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6. Feeling bad about yourself - or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed, or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Add columns: | ||||
| 0 | + ____ | + _____ | + ____ | |
| = Total Score: _______ | ||||
If you checked off any problems, how difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?
| Copyright © Pfizer Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of Pfizer, Inc. | |||
| Not difficult at all | Somewhat difficult | Very difficult | Extremely difficult |
| 1-4 | Minimal depression |
| 5-9 | Mild depression |
| 10-14 | Moderate depression |
| 15-19 | Moderately severe depression |
| 20-27 | Severe depression |
Clinicians should be particularly alert to patients' responses to question 9, "Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way." Any affirmative response to question 9, or a PHQ-9 score of >9, requires that a suicide risk assessment be completed within 24 hours (see below).
The PHQ-9 is validated for use only with English-speaking persons of European origin; some experts feel it is less sensitive for depression in many patients with Asian or Latino backgrounds. As with all symptom questionnaires, assessment results should be interpreted and guided by clinical experience.
From Depression
Primary Care of Veterans with HIV
Office of Clinical Public Health Programs
Veterans Health Administration, 2009
