Calculator · Mental health

Whooley questions (depression)

Two-question depression case-finding (Whooley; NICE CG91).

What it is for

Opportunistic screening (esp. chronic disease, antenatal/postnatal).

Use the working calculator

The working Whooley questions (depression) calculator is on our calculators page. It is free and needs no account. Enter the values and it shows the result with the reading that goes with it.

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What you enter

The calculator asks for 2 items.

  • During the last month, often bothered by feeling down, depressed or hopeless? (1 point)
  • During the last month, often bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things? (1 point)

How the result is read

The result is shown as Positive answers, out of a maximum of 2.

The calculator reads each total as follows. Where a single answer changes the reading (for example sex, age or one extreme value), the working calculator says so.

TotalBandWhat the calculator says
0NegativeDepression unlikely currently.
1 to 2Positive — assess furtherAsk the "help" question + complete PHQ-9; assess risk. Either "yes" warrants fuller assessment.

Sources

These are the sources the calculator cites. Check the current version before relying on a threshold.

Related

PHQ-9 (depression)Depression severity over the last 2 weeks (9 items, 0–27).GAD-7 (anxiety)Generalised anxiety severity over the last 2 weeks (7 items, 0–21).AUDIT-C (alcohol screen)Brief alcohol-use screen (3 items, 0–12).AUDIT (full, 10-item)Detailed alcohol-use disorder screen (0–40).PHQ-2 (depression screen)Two-item depression case-finding (0–6).All calculators60 clinical scores and tools

For qualified clinicians. A score supports a clinical decision and does not make it: check the inputs, read the cited source, and use the tools in your clinical system for patient care where one is provided.