Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32564676›Full record

ArticleQualitative health research2020

Use of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) in Practice: Interactions between patients and physicians.

Joseph Ford, Felicity Thomas, Richard Byng, Rose McCabe

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Qualitative health research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Mend the Gap: Online User-Led Adjuvant Treatment for Psychosis: A Systematic Review on Recent Findings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Pooled it
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  5. Sciatica beyond the spine: a prospective study on laparoscopic neurolysis of pelvic sciatic and sacral nerves demonstrating long-term improvements in pain, function, mood, and bladder symptoms (VAS, SF-36, PHQ-9, OAB-V8).European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
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  8. Who Enrolls After Referral to Virtual Pulmonary Rehabilitation? A Descriptive Comparison.Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.) · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Joseph FordUniversity of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-2248-8591
Felicity ThomasUniversity of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Richard ByngUniversity of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
Rose McCabeCity, University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We analyze the use of nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), an instrument that is widely used in diagnosing and determining the severity of depression. Using conversation analysis, we show how the doctor deploys the PHQ-9 in response to the patient's doubts about whether she is depressed. Rather than relaying the PHQ-9 verbatim, the doctor deviates from the wording so that the response options are selectively offered to upgrade the severity of the patient's symptoms. This works in favor of a positive diagnosis and is used to justify a treatment recommendation that the patient previously resisted. This contrasted with the rest of the data set, where diagnosis was either not delivered (as patients are presenting with ongoing problems) or delivered without using the PHQ-9. When clinician-administered, the PHQ-9 can be influenced by how response items are presented. This can lead to either downgrading or upgrading the severity of depression.

Indexed as

Patient Health QuestionnairePhysiciansDepressionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and Questionnairesconversation analysisdepressionhealth caremental health and illnessprimaryqualitativeUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID32564676
PMCPMC7549295

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.