The review demonstrated that the WHO-5 has high clinimetric validity , can be used as an outcome measure balancing the wanted and unwanted effects of treatments , is a sensitive and specific screening tool for depression and its applicability across study fields is very high .
Conclusions : The WHO-5 is a short question naire 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
Background : The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index ( WHO-5 ) is among the most widely used question naires assessing subjective psychological well-being .
Since its first publication in 1998 , the WHO-5 has been translated into more than 30 language s and has been used in research studies all over the world .
We now provide a systematic review of the literature on the WHO-5 .
Screening for depression in elderly Indian population
Background : The point prevalence of depressive disorders in the elderly population in India varies from 13 to 25 % . Since the World Health Organization ( five ) Well-being Index ( 1998 version ) is simple and easy to administer , an attempt is made to evaluate the Indian version of this instrument to identify depression in the elderly Indian community . Objectives : ( 1 ) To determine the prevalence of depression among the elderly population of rural areas of Udupi district , Karnataka , India . ( 2 ) To determine the validity and reliability of WHO ( five ) Well-being Index ( 1998 version ) as a screening instrument to identify depressive disorders in elderly population in this Indian setting . Material s and Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of eight months ( from March 1 to October 31 , 2002 ) in the three taluks of Udupi , Kundapura , and Karkala ; belonging to the Udupi district of South India . We selected 627 people in the age group of 60 years and above for the study . Simple r and om sampling , without replacement method , using the probability proportionate to size ( PPS ) technique was used . The WHO ( five ) well-being index ( 1998 version ) was vali date d against the major International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision ( ICD-10 ) depression inventory of mastering depression in primary care version 2.2 . Proportions and their 95 % confidence intervals were calculated and Kappa statistics was applied to determine the reliability of the screening instrument . P value<0.05 was considered statistically significant . Results : The prevalence of depression in elderly population was determined to be 21.7 % ( 95 % CI = 18.4 - 24.9 ) . The Indian version of WHO-five well-being index ( 1998 version ) showed a sensitivity of 97.0 % , specificity of 86.4 % , positive predictive value of 66.3 % and an overall accuracy of 0.89 . The Kappa statistics showed significantly high reliability of k = 0.71 . Conclusion : The Indian version of " WHO ( five ) Well-being Index ( 1998 version ) " was found to be an effective instrument for identifying depression in elderly Indian community
The review demonstrated that the WHO-5 has high clinimetric validity , can be used as an outcome measure balancing the wanted and unwanted effects of treatments , is a sensitive and specific screening tool for depression and its applicability across study fields is very high .
Conclusions : The WHO-5 is a short question naire 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
Background : The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index ( WHO-5 ) is among the most widely used question naires assessing subjective psychological well-being .
Since its first publication in 1998 , the WHO-5 has been translated into more than 30 language s and has been used in research studies all over the world .
We now provide a systematic review of the literature on the WHO-5 .