Question 1

What is the WHO-5 Well-Being Index?

Accepted Answer

The WHO-5 Well-Being Index is a short questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization in 1998 to measure subjective psychological wellbeing. It consists of five positively worded statements rated on a 6-point scale for the past two weeks. It is one of the most widely used wellbeing measures in the world, translated into more than 30 languages, and has been validated in hundreds of studies across many populations and clinical settings.

Question 2

How is the WHO-5 scored?

Accepted Answer

Each of the five items is rated from 0 (At no time) to 5 (All of the time). The raw score ranges from 0 to 25. This raw score is multiplied by 4 to produce a percentage score from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst possible wellbeing and 100 represents the best. A percentage score below 50 suggests low wellbeing and indicates that further evaluation may be appropriate. A score below 28 is associated with depression in research studies and suggests screening with a tool like the PHQ-9.

Question 3

Is the WHO-5 a depression test?

Accepted Answer

No. The WHO-5 is a general wellbeing measure, not a depression screening tool. It uses positively worded items (cheerfulness, calm, energy, rest, engagement) rather than asking about depressive symptoms. However, research has consistently shown that low WHO-5 scores are associated with depression, which is why a score below 50% is a signal to consider further evaluation with a depression-specific screener like the PHQ-9. The WHO-5 can detect reduced wellbeing from many causes, not just depression.

Question 4

How is the WHO-5 different from the PHQ-9 or GAD-7?

Accepted Answer

The PHQ-9 screens specifically for depression symptoms, and the GAD-7 screens specifically for anxiety symptoms. Both use negatively framed questions about problems and difficulties. The WHO-5 measures positive wellbeing, it asks about good feelings and experiences rather than symptoms. This makes the WHO-5 less stigmatizing and useful as a general check-in, while the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are more specific clinical screening tools. They complement each other well: a low WHO-5 score tells you something is off, and tools like the PHQ-9 can help identify what.

Question 5

Can I use the WHO-5 to track my wellbeing over time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and this is one of its primary strengths. The WHO-5 is designed to be taken repeatedly, weekly, biweekly, or monthly, to monitor changes in wellbeing. A change of 10 percentage points or more from a previous score is considered clinically significant. Tracking your score over time can help you notice patterns related to seasons, life events, work stress, sleep changes, or treatment effects. Many clinicians use the WHO-5 as a routine monitoring tool for this reason.

Question 6

Is my data private?

Accepted Answer

Questionnaire answers and scores are processed locally and are not intentionally sent to MindCheck Tools. No account or login is required. Ordinary page requests can create hosting records, and prints, downloads, copies, sync, backups, or shared-device access are outside this boundary.

WHO-5 Well-Being Index

Before you begin