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 .
Workplace Social Capital and Mental Health among Chinese Employees: A Multi-Level, Cross-Sectional Study
Background Whereas the majority of previous research on social capital and health has been on residential neighborhoods and communities , the evidence remains sparse on workplace social capital . To address this gap in the literature , we examined the association between  workplace social capital  and health status among Chinese employees in a large , multi-level , cross-sectional study . Methods By employing a two-stage stratified r and om sampling procedure , 2,796 employees were identified from 35 workplaces in Shanghai during March to November 2012 .  Workplace social capital was assessed using a vali date d and psychometrically tested eight-item measure , and the Chinese language version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index ( WHO-5 ) was used to assess mental health . Control variables included sex , age , marital status , education level , occupation status , smoking status , physical activity , and job stress . Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with mental health status . Results In total , 34.9 % of workers reported poor mental health ( WHO-5<13 ) . After controlling for individual-level socio-demographic and lifestyle variables , compared to workers with the highest quartile of personal social capital , workers with the third , second , and lowest quartiles exhibited 1.39 to 3.54 times greater odds of poor mental health , 1.39 ( 95 % CI : 1.10–1.75 ) , 1.85 ( 95 % CI : 1.38–2.46 ) and 3.54 ( 95 % CI : 2.73–4.59 ) , respectively . Corresponding odds ratios for workplace-level social capital were 0.95 ( 95 % CI : 0.61–1.49 ) , 1.14 ( 95 % CI : 0.72–1.81 ) and 1.63 ( 95 % CI : 1.05–2.53 ) for the third , second , and lowest quartiles , respectively . Conclusions  Higher workplace social  capital is associated with lower odds of poor mental health among Chinese employees . Promoting social capital at the workplace may contribute to enhancing employees ’ mental health in China
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 .