The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale helps doctors screen patients for emotional distress. It focuses on mood rather than physical symptoms to ensure clear results in medical settings.

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) PDF questionnaire for screening anxiety and depression
HADS

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a trusted self-assessment tool for detecting anxiety and depression. Featuring 14 items, it helps clinicians screen patients in hospital settings by focusing on psychological symptoms rather than physical signs of illness.

Category

Mental health
Wellbeing
Diagnostic

Disease

Mental Health
Assessment
Clinical Measurement

Source

(Zigmond & Snaith, 1983)

Author Name

Zigmond, A.S. & Snaith, R.P. (1983)

What is Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a top choice for checking emotional distress. It helps clinicians spot mood issues in patients. This fourteen item survey focuses on psychological symptoms. It excludes physical signs like dizziness or fatigue to ensure results reflect feelings rather than illness. The scale splits into two sections of seven questions each. One looks at anxiety levels while the other checks for depression. Patients rate how they felt over the past week on a zero to three scale, making it easy to track changes in their mental state. It is a self report tool that takes just a few minutes to finish. This speed makes it great for busy hospital wards or outpatient clinics. Doctors use the scores to decide if a patient needs more help. It works well for screening and monitoring progress throughout a patient's recovery journey.

HADS Scoring

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale can be scored using two main approaches.1. Subscale Summation: This is the go to method where you tally the seven items for anxiety (HADS A) and seven for depression (HADS D) separately. Items are rated 0 to 3, giving a range of 0 to 21 per subscale. Scores of 8 to 10 suggest mild issues, while 11 plus points to a probable clinical case.2. Global Scoring: Here, you sum all 14 items for a total distress score between 0 and 42. While handy for a quick snapshot, keeping scores separate helps clinicians spot specific mood disorders more clearly.

View scoring form

Advantages

Diagnostic accuracy

Enables precise identification of patient health status.

Efficient collection

Streamlines research data gathering process.

Wide applicability

Serves diverse clinical needs effectively.

5
Minutes
14
Questions

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