Brief Description
The Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) is a brief, self-administered screening tool used to assess the severity of somatic symptoms (physical symptoms that may or may not have a medical cause). It is part of the broader Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) series, which includes other tools like the PHQ-9 (for depression) and GAD-7 (for anxiety). The PHQ-15 is widely used in both medical and mental health settings to screen for somatization and evaluate the severity of physical symptoms often associated with somatic symptom disorder, anxiety, or depression. The measure asks respondents how much they are bothered by 15 somatic symptoms (e.g., stomach pain, trouble sleeping) on a 3-point Likert scale with options ranging from “Not bothered at all” (0) to “Bothered a lot” (2). The PHQ-15 can be used to monitor changes in somatic symptoms over time, especially in response to treatment.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
15
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Monthly
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The 15 items of the PHQ-15 are scored on a 3-point Likert scale with options ranging from “Not bothered at all” (0) to “Bothered a lot” (2).The PHQ is scored by adding the sum of all item responses. Higher scores indicate more severity of somatic symptoms. Scores are classified as shown in the table below:
Total score | Classification |
<5 | Minimal somatic symptoms |
5-9 | Low somatic symptom severity |
10-14 | Medium somatic symptom severity |
15+ | High somatic symptom severity |
Blueprint Adjustments
Blueprint modified the language for item 4, which asks about the impact of menstrual symptoms. The original language indicates that “women only” should answer this item, and we have modified the instruction to say “those who menstruate only” to ensure that those who menstruate but do not identify as women are not excluded from this question.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 4-8 minutes
Higher scores indicate greater levels of somatic distress and suggest the need for further assessment, particularly for conditions like somatic symptom disorder, anxiety, or depression.
Many of the physical symptoms assessed by the PHQ-15 are also common in depression and anxiety, so it is often used alongside the PHQ-9 (for depression) and GAD-7 (for anxiety) to get a broader picture of the patient's mental health.
The PHQ-15 does not provide detailed insight into the cause of symptoms, so further evaluation may be needed to determine whether symptoms are psychological, medical, or a combination of both.
Citation
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