Reliability and Convergent Validity of the PHQ-2 for the rapid detection of Depressive Symptoms in Healthcare Professionals in Argentina

Nicole Caldichoury¹Breiner Morales-Asencio²Juan-Carlos Coronado³Luis Mario Castellanos Alvarenga⁴César Quispe-Ayala⁵Carol Saldías⁶David Salazar⁷Daniela Ripoll-Córdoba⁸Wendy Bada⁹Juan Martínez¹⁰Rodrigo Duhalde-Sanhueza¹¹Cesar Castellanos¹²Yuliana Flórez¹³Raúl Quincho-Apumayta⁵Carlos Ardila-Duarte¹⁴Alberto Rivelino Patiño-Rivera¹⁵Pascual A. Gargiulo¹⁶Juan Cárdenas-Valverde¹⁷Norman López^13,6*

• ¹Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile
• ²Consorcio Latinoamericano de Investigación (CLATI), Temuco, Chile
• ³Departamento de Procesos Terapéuticos, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile
• ⁴Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Comunicaciones, Universidad Santo Tomás, Temuco, Chile
• ⁵Universidad Nacional de Huancavelica, Huancavelica, Peru
• ⁶Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomas, Temuco, Chile
• ⁷Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrion, Cerro de Pasco, Peru
• ⁸Consorcio Latinoamericano de Investigación (CLATI)., Temuco, Chile
• ⁹Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Amazonia, Pucallpa, Peru
• ¹⁰Graduate School of Education, Ana G. Mendez University, Caguas, Puerto Rico
• ¹¹Coordinador de campos Clinicos, Universidad Santo Tomás, Temuco, Chile
• ¹²Instituto Dominicano para el Estudio de la Salud Integral y la Psicología Aplicada (IDESIP), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• ¹³Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Universidad de La Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia
• ¹⁴Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Metropolitana, Barranquilla, Colombia
• ¹⁵Facultad de Educación, Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Selva Central Juan Santos Atahualpa, La Merced, Chanchamayo, Peru
• ¹⁶Laboratorio de Neurociencias y Psicología Experimental. Área de Farmacología. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
• ¹⁷Universidad Nacional Autonoma Altoandina de Tarma, Tarma, Peru

Abstract Introduction: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among healthcare professionals has increased significantly, highlighting the need for valid and reliable ultra-rapid screening tools in high-demand clinical settings. Objective: To analyze the reliability and convergent validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) among healthcare professionals in Argentina. Method: A cross-sectional eHealth study was conducted with 2,835 healthcare professionals (47% men, 53% women) working in public (57.2%) and private (42.8%) institutions. Participants completed the PHQ-2, PHQ-9, GAD-7, and Mini-Z scales in two phases, with a three-month interval. The convergent validity of the test was determined by comparing it with the original version of the PHQ, an anxiety test (GAD-7), and a burnout test (Mini-Z). In addition, internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's omega coefficient. Results: The PHQ-2 showed a unidimensional structure, explaining 73% of the variance, and demonstrated strong convergent validity, with high correlations with the PHQ-9 (r = 0.836; p < 0.001) and the GAD-7 (r = 0.724; p < 0.001), and a moderate correlation with the Mini-Z (r = 0.568; p < 0.001). Internal consistency was satisfactory (α = 0.75; ω = 0.85), confirming its reliability as a screening tool. Conclusions: The PHQ-2 is a valid and reliable instrument for the ultra-rapid detection of depressive symptoms in healthcare professionals in Argentina. Its strong psychometric properties and brief format make it a useful tool for mental health screening in high-demand healthcare settings.