WHO-5 Wellbeing Index

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What is WHO-5

The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is a short and generic global rating scale measuring subjective well-being. It is among the most widely used questionnaires assessing subjective psychological well-being. Since its first publication in 1998, the WHO-5 has been translated into more than 30 languages and has been used in research studies all over the world.

WHO-5 Printable PDF

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WHO-5 Scoring and Interpretation

The WHO-5 consists of five statements, which respondents rate according to the scale below (in relation to the past two weeks).

All the time = 5
Most of the time = 4
More than half of the time = 3
Less than half of the time = 2
Some of the time = 1
At no time = 0.

The raw score is calculated by totaling the figures of the five answers. The raw score ranges from 0 to 25, 0 representing worst possible and 25 representing best possible quality of life.

To obtain a percentage score ranging from 0 to 100, the raw score is multiplied by 4. A percentage score of 0 represents worst possible, whereas a score of 100 represents best possible quality of life.

It is recommended to administer the Major Depression (ICD-10) Inventory if the raw score is below 13 or if the patient has answered 0 to 1 to any of the five items. A score below 13 indicates poor wellbeing and is an indication for testing for depression under ICD-10.

In order to monitor possible changes in wellbeing, the percentage score is used. A 10% difference indicates a significant change (ref. John Ware, 1995).

A raw score below 13 (or a percentage score below 52) indicates poor wellbeing.

PsyPack can automatically score the WHO-5 assessment and prepare corresponding tables and graphs.

Further, PsyPack automatically plots a graph to help you easily track progress over time.

Sample Report of WHO-5

Domain

Subjective well-being

What does WHO-5 measure

The purpose of the evaluation is to:

measure subjective well-being,
identify depression cases,
monitor possible changes in wellbeing.

Administration

Self-administered

Type of outcome tool

Clinical

Assessment modes

Questionnaire

Age and eligibility

9 years and above

Estimated time

About 2 minutes

Notes

Since the questionnaire relies on client self-report, all responses should be verified by the clinician, and a definitive diagnosis is made on clinical grounds taking into account how well the client understood the questionnaire, as well as other relevant information from the client.

Monitoring change: In order to monitor possible changes in wellbeing, the percentage score is used. A 10% difference indicates a significant change (ref. John Ware, 1995).

The WHO-5 is a short questionnaire consisting of 5 simple and non-invasive questions, which tap into the subjective well-being of the respondents. The scale has adequate validity both as a screening tool for depression and as an outcome measure in clinical trials and has been applied successfully across a wide range of study fields.

Attribution and References

WHO. (1998). Wellbeing Measures in Primary Health Care/The Depcare Project. WHO Regional Office for Europe: Copenhagen.

Wellbeing measures in primary health care/the DepCare Project: report on a WHO meeting: Stockholm, Sweden, 12–13 February 1998

Archived link

Topp C, W, Østergaard S, D, Søndergaard S, Bech P: The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Psychother Psychosom 2015;84:167-176. doi: 10.1159/000376585

Archived link