WHO-5 Well-Being Index
5-item well-being screen from the World Health Organization, measuring positive well-being over the past two weeks.
Show Details
Introduction
The WHO-5 Well-Being Index is a short 5-item questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization to assess subjective psychological well-being over the past two weeks. It is one of the most widely used well-being measures worldwide and is free to use.
The raw score ranges from 0 to 25 and is multiplied by 4 to give a percentage from 0 to 100. A raw score below 13 indicates poor well-being and suggests further screening.
References
- Topp, C. W., Østergaard, S. D., Søndergaard, S., & Bech, P. (2015). The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: A systematic review of the literature. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(3), 167-176. 10.1159/000376585
- World Health Organization (1998). Wellbeing measures in primary health care: The DepCare project. WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Let us know.
What is the WHO-5?
The WHO-5 Well-Being Index is a 5-item questionnaire on recent well-being, derived from a longer 1998 WHO instrument. It asks how often you felt positive states (fresh, calm, energetic, interested, cheerful) over the last two weeks.
How is the WHO-5 scored?
Each item is scored 0-5 (not at all to all of the time) and the raw sum is multiplied by 4, giving 0-100. Higher is better; a raw score below 10 (raw sum) or a percentage below 50 suggests poor well-being worth attention.
Is the WHO-5 a depression test?
It functions as a general well-being screen, and low scores correlate with depression — in some guidelines it is used as a first-pass screen. It is not diagnostic and does not distinguish causes of low well-being.
Why measure well-being positively?
The WHO-5 is phrased entirely as positive statements, which avoids the response bias of symptom-only scales and aligns with the WHO definition of health as more than the absence of illness.
Learn More
PHQ-9 Depression Screening
FeaturedDetects depression severity using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 assessment tool.
DASS-21 Assessment
FeaturedMeasures levels of depression, anxiety, and stress with this standardized psychological assessment.
GAD-7 Anxiety Screening
FeaturedDetects generalized anxiety disorder using this validated clinical assessment tool.
