WHO-5
ValidatedWorld Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5)
Adults (18+)Self~2 min5 questions
Please indicate for each of the five statements which is closest to how you have been feeling over the last two weeks. Notice that higher numbers mean better well-being.
Report details · optional
Shown on the report and stored with the screening record. Use initials or a code, not full names.
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About this screener — evidence, source, alternatives
A five-item measure of current mental well-being, rated over the last two weeks from 0 (at no time) to 5 (all of the time). The raw score (0–25) is multiplied by four to give a percentage score where 0 is the worst and 100 the best possible well-being. Widely used as a non-stigmatising first screen for depression and for monitoring change.
Evidence · validated
A systematic review of 213 studies (Topp, Østergaard, Søndergaard & Bech, Psychother Psychosom 2015;84:167–176) found the WHO-5 to have good construct validity as a well-being measure and to be a sensitive and specific screening tool for depression across many languages and settings. The < 50 cut-off is the one given in WHO's 2024 publication.
Free alternative to
- Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (WEMWBS / SWEMWBS) · University of Warwick
Wellbeing scales that require registration for use; the WHO-5 is the openly licensed alternative.
Source & licence
World Health Organization. The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024 (WHO/UCN/MSD/MHE/2024.01). Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Developed by the late Per Bech, Psychiatric Centre North Zealand.
Licence: © WHO 2024 — Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO)
Non-commercial use with citation; no suggestion of WHO endorsement and no use of the WHO logo. Adaptations must carry the same licence.
Official source ↗