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Patient Health Questionnaire - 4 (PHQ-4)
Patient Health Questionnaire - 4 (PHQ-4)
| Availability |
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4)
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| Classification |
Supplemental – Highly Recommended: Headache (use PHQ-4 over PHQ-9 if time is of constraint).
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| Short Description of Instrument |
The PHQ-4 is a screening tool that is specific to depression. This 4-item measure asks participants whether and how often they have been bothered by depression related symptoms over the last two weeks. It includes questions from both PHQ-9 and GAD-7.
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| Scoring |
It is a 4-item screening measure which ranges from a score of 0 to 12 with categories of psychological distress being:
None 0-2
Mild 3-5
Moderate 6-8
Severe 9-12
Anxiety subscale = sum of items 1 and 2 - (score range, 0 to 6) Depression subscale = sum of items 3 and 4 - (score range, 0 to 6)
On each subscale, a score of 3 or greater is considered positive for screening purposes.
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| Rationale/Justification |
The PHQ-4 is a short screening tool that may be preferred over the PHQ-9 when there is a time constraint.
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| References |
Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, LÖwe B. An ultra-brief screening scale for anxiety and depression: the PHQ-4 Psychosomatics. 2009;50:613-621.
Document last updated April 2020
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| Recommended Instrument for |
Headache
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