When people want to research their symptoms, they usually turn to Google. But now, people searching for a specific condition called "clinical depression" on their smartphones will be asked if they'd like to check if they're clinically depressed.
Clicking on this text takes the person to a new page that introduces a screening questionnaire. The questionnaire, called the PHQ-9, is a "clinically validated screening questionnaire that can help determine the extent of depressive symptoms," Mary Giliberti, chief executive of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said in a statement released by Google yesterday, August 23
The self-assessment is private. > Self-assessments are private, Giliberti said, and may help determine a person's level of depression and whether an in-person assessment is needed. [9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health]
The screening questionnaire isn't meant to be used as a single tool for diagnosing depression-in other words, a person can't be diagnosed with depression simply by taking an online survey. Instead, it's meant to help raise awareness and potentially direct people to seek treatment, Giliberti says She says the PHQ-9 results can help you have a more informed conversation with your doctor, but what do mental health professionals have to say about adding the questionnaire to a Google search?
"I think it's a good idea because it provides a reliable, easy way to screen for depression," said Dr. Michael Seth, a professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania "There will definitely be false positives, but keep in mind that it's only when people are seeking clinical There will definitely be false positives, but keep in mind that this only occurs when people are seeking information about clinical depression," Seth told Live Science.
Dr. David Hellerstein, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, agrees that false positives can occur. In other words, questionnaires may suggest that people can be clinically depressed without actually having a condition.
For example, a false positive could occur when a person is having a bad day or just got into a fight, Hellerstein told Live Science. But he added that Google's use of questionnaires may have more positive than negative effects." On the other hand, you may find that many, many, many people don't think about the symptoms of depression, and maybe that will help some of them move toward treatment, he said.
Consider how people perceive the symptoms of other conditions online, Hellerstein said. A questionnaire about asthma symptoms that mentions shortness of breath could capture someone having a heart attack or someone who just got a cold. But you might also find a lot of people in the middle who suffer from asthma, so it raises awareness, he said.
For depression, that awareness is important: "Depression is still under-recognized and under-treated," Hellerstein said. [9 Celebrities Talk About Depression]
Nonetheless, Hellerstein raised several questions about Google's use of screen-based devices. For example, he said, the questionnaire Google is using is a "very useful clinical screening tool"; however, it may not be designed for use in randomized populations, but rather in clinical and medical settings. He added that this gives researchers an opportunity to make questionnaires more reliable for wider use.
Another question is what happens if a person takes the questionnaire and learns that they are "really, really depressed"? Hellerstein said. There are privacy issues, he said, but would someone intervene and try to get that person to seek treatment?"
Originally published in Live Science.