Muscle aches, bites, vomiting… These everyday ailments are often the subject of Google searches. The goal? Try to find out more about his state of health in order to find solutions. But some Internet users are wondering about deeper suffering, particularly in connection with their Mental Health. Problem: the seriousness of the results is not always guaranteed. To remedy this, Google US now links to a clinical test when American Internet users type the word “depression” in the search engine.
A first step towards a clinical diagnosis
The web giant has partnered with the National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI) to offer this clinically validated questionnaire called “PHQ-9“. Created in 1999 by Dr Spitzer, Williams and Kroenke, it consists of nine questions, allowing Internet users to determine “their level of depression”. The result, confidential, obviously does not replace the diagnosis of a doctor but can be a first step towards an evaluation, specifies Google in a communicated. “We hope that by making this information available on Google, more and more people will become aware of their depression and seek treatment to get better and improve their quality of life,” concludes the search engine.
For the time being, this questionnaire is only available in the United States.
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