Depression
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Symptom screening and measurement; requires clinical interpretation
Reference information · Questionnaire
- Last content update
- 2026-10-26
- Clinical review
- Not independently reviewed
- Source jurisdiction
- See individual sources
- Coverage
- Questionnaire
| Field | Instrument context |
|---|---|
| Version | Standard adult English; University of Washington source wording |
| Population | Adults |
| Respondent | Self-report |
| Recall period | Past 2 weeks |
| Purpose | Symptom screening and measurement; requires clinical interpretation |
Assessment tool
A total does not establish individual item responses.
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?
Responses stay in this page’s memory. Reset or leave the page to clear them. No patient identifiers are collected.
Interpretation & limitations
- Higher scores reflect greater reported symptom burden; results do not establish a diagnosis.
- Use clinical judgment, functional impact, history and clinical interview alongside the score.
- All scored items must be answered; missing responses are not zero and no total is produced for an incomplete form.
- Functional-impact response is recorded separately and is excluded from the symptom total. For PHQ-9, ask when any symptom is endorsed.
- A low score does not rule out a mental health condition or establish safety.
- This adult English version is not PHQ-A or an independently validated translation.
- No automatic diagnosis, medication change or declaration of safety may be generated.
References · 3
- University of Washington National HIV Curriculum: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
- Pfizer: free public access to PHQ and GAD assessment tools · Pfizer released PHQ and GAD questionnaires without copyright restriction and at no charge. Preserve developer attribution; Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc.
- NIH Common Data Elements: PHQ-9 functional impact item