Online Depression Screening
An online self-check can help you reflect on mood and well-being signals you may want to discuss with a professional. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It is estimated that there are 350 million people worldwide who have some form of depression1. In the United States, 16 million people had a depressive episode in the past year. Moreover, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. But how to understand that a person has depression? These questionnaires are commonly used for personal insight and to support conversations with clinicians about mood. Such, for example, as PHQ-9. In general, screening and assessment tools for depression and anxiety include questions about mental health symptoms.
Screening for Depression
A short self-check can highlight feelings you may wish to discuss with a licensed mental health provider. According to established mental health frameworks, people may notice persistent mood changes by tracking their wellbeing; the questionnaire can help them reflect on whether they see several recurring symptoms worth discussing with a professional. Self-guided check-ins can bring attention to shifts in mood so individuals can make informed choices about lifestyle adjustments or whether to touch base with a wellbeing coach. Symptoms are:
- depressed or sad mood,
- short-tempered or easily annoyed,
- loss of interest or enjoyment in hobbies or activities that was previously enjoyed,
- feeling of worthlessness or guilt,
- thoughts of death or suicide,
- difficulty with concentrating or making decisions,
- feeling tired or fatigue,
- feeling restless or slow,
- changes in appetite such as overeating or loss of appetite,
- changes in weight such as weight loss or weight gain,
- and changes in sleep pattern.
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If several of these feelings persist, consider speaking with a healthcare professional for an evaluation. In addition, try the questionnaire to gauge how your current mood feels to you and decide if you want professional support.
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Online Depression Screening
Use the quick self-check to reflect on how you’re feeling today; only a professional can assess or diagnose conditions. These checklists are designed to help you tune into your emotional state and support a broader wellness conversation with yourself or trusted advisors. This self-check highlights how you’re feeling; only clinicians can determine whether symptoms meet diagnostic criteria.
» Feeling lost in emotions? Discover the science behind the Mood Diary.
The PHQ-9 Evidence Appraisal
The PHQ-9 was initially developed by Kroenke et al (2001), as a subset of 9 questions from the full PHQ. It had previously been derived and studied in a cohort of 6,000 patients2. The PHQ-9-style reflection is presented for personal insight so you can notice patterns in your wellbeing; it is offered purely as a self-reflection prompt rather than a clinical assessment. Criterion validity was also assessed in a sample of 580 patients. self-administration takes 5–7 min.
Beck’s Depression Inventory Online Test Evidence Appraisal
The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is currently one of the most widely used measures for assessing depression3. The questionnaire was developed from clinical observations of attitudes and symptoms occurring frequently in depressed psychiatric patients and infrequently in non-depressed psychiatric patients4. The questionnaire is commonly self-administered although initially designed to be administered by trained interviewers. Self-administration takes 5–10 min.
These questionnaires can help you notice patterns in your feelings over time to discuss with a clinician if you choose.
Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36)
SF-36 is a set of generic, coherent, and easily administered quality-of-life measures. These measures rely upon patient self-reporting and are now widely utilized by managed care organizations and by Medicare for routine monitoring and assessment of care outcomes in adult patients. Self-administration takes 8–14 min.
Geriatric Depression Scale: Short Form
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) has been tested and used extensively with the older population. The GDS Long Form is a brief, 30-item questionnaire in which participants are asked to respond by answering yes or no in reference to how they felt over the past week. A Short Form GDS consisting of 15 questions was developed in 1986. Self-administration takes 4–7 min.
GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7)
The GAD-7-style prompts invite you to note how anxiety-like experiences show up day to day, helping you spot trends for wellbeing planning. It consists of seven questions that ask about common anxiety symptoms and their impact on daily life. The GAD-7 is often used as a screening tool in clinical and research settings to help identify individuals who may be experiencing significant levels of anxiety. Self-administration takes 3–5 min.
Pros and Cons of Depression Screening
Above all, еhere is not thought to be any significant harm associated with screening for depression and anxiety. However, some people worry that screening and assessment tools may lead to incorrect diagnoses. Therefore, it is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety.
At the same time, screening tools can detect most, but not all, cases of possible depression and anxiety. We already talked about connection between our minds and our bodies. So, the main advantage of screening tools is that they are quick and easy. And it’s true for its use and interpreting. A limitation is that they simplify complex experiences and impose artificial symptom thresholds.
It is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety. Diagnosis of depressive or anxiety disorder requires deeper assessments.
FURTHER READING
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Source: ©️2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserve
- World Health Organization. Depression
- Spitzer 1999
- Assessment of depression in medical patients: A systematic review of the utility of the Beck Depression Inventory-II
- Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1961;4:561–571
