Patient Health Questionnaire‐8 (PHQ‐8)
Clinical intent
The PHQ-8 is a validated, 8-question tool to assess for the degree of depression present in an individual.
Calculation
All 8 questions are simply summed to obtain the total score.
Clinical interpretation
| Score | Depression severity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Minimal or none | Monitor; may not require treatment |
| 5-9 | Mild | Use clinical judgment (symptom duration, functional impairment) to determine necessity of treatment |
| 10-14 | Moderate | Use clinical judgment (symptom duration, functional impairment) to determine necessity of treatment |
| 15-19 | Moderately severe | Warrants active treatment with psychotherapy, medications, or combination |
| 20-24 | Severe | Warrants active treatment with psychotherapy, medications, or combination |
References
[1] Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-8: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. PubMed PMID: 11556941; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1495268. [2] Instruction manual
Pathway
Form preview
Interactive preview of the questionnaire. Not for clinical use. Responses are not stored.
