WHO5

The WHO-5 Well-Being Index, or simply WHO-5, is a short, five-item self-report questionnaire used to assess a person’s current subjective well-being. Developed by the World Health Organization, it is widely employed in clinical practice and research to screen for well-being and to monitor changes over time. It is not a diagnostic tool.

The instrument asks respondents to reflect on their well-being during the past two weeks through five positively worded statements: I have felt cheerful and in good spirits; I have felt calm and relaxed; I have felt active and vigorous; I woke up feeling fresh and rested; My daily life has been filled with things that I enjoy. Each item is rated on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 means “at no time” and 5 means “all of the time.” The raw score ranges from 0 to 25, and many users multiply the raw total by 4 to yield a 0–100 scale, where higher scores indicate better well-being.

Interpretation and use: A higher WHO-5 score indicates greater well-being. A commonly used threshold on the 0–100 scale is below 50, which may suggest poorer well-being and possible depressive symptoms, indicating that further assessment could be warranted. The tool is quick to administer and has been translated into numerous languages, with cross-cultural validations in diverse populations. It is used as a screening aid, an outcome measure, and a means to monitor response to treatment in both clinical and research settings.