We all know how capable is the Google assistant when it comes to AI skills and getting things done. Now Google comes up with another feature in Google now which intends to help psychologically affected patients.
Major depressive disorder, also known as clinical depression, might be one of the more common mental health diagnoses around, but there is still plenty of stigma around the diagnosis and about mental health in general. Google teams up with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to help out it’s users to get diagnosed with depression by asking them a set of questions called PHQ-9.
The Patient Health Questionnaire, better known as the PHQ-9, is a brief self-report tool that screens, diagnoses, monitors, and measures how severe one’s depression is. Your Severity Score depends on how you answer each of the nine questions, with the provisional diagnoses ranging from minimal symptoms to major depression. What makes the PHQ-9 such an attractive tool is that not only is it simple and accurate, but it can be administered several times in order to see whether someone’s depression after receiving treatment has improved or worsened.
To take the PHQ-9 test you just need to search the word “depression” in Google. Once you do, scroll down until you see the info card and press on “Check if you’re clinically depressed.” You will then be taken to the PHQ-9, which should not take you very long to complete.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that PHQ-9 results are not replacements for official diagnoses from a clinical professional. Rather, the questionnaire is there to nudge you to seek out a clinical professional. The PHQ-9 also only pops up in Google search results in the US, with no word whether that will change in the near future.
The Mountain View company says that the feature will be rolled to the US users in the next few days. So, what’s your thoughts about the new move by Google???
Stay updated with latest happenings of tech world on the go with Technobugg App, on Android and Windows.
Source: Google, Via: Android Authority