Health anxiety (Whiteley-7)
Health worries and checking. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.
Source · Pilowsky I. Dimensions of hypochondriasis. Br J Psychiatry. 1967;113(494):89–93. CareOps English translation of its existing Korean questionnaire. Wording, response choices and descriptive score ranges follow the CareOps version and have not been independently validated in English.
How long health worries keep hold of you
The Whiteley Index was developed by Pilowsky in 1967 to explore different dimensions of hypochondriasis, and the Whiteley-7 is a seven-item version selected by Fink and colleagues in 1999. It asks whether you worry about having a serious illness, keep noticing aches or symptoms, find it hard to feel reassured even when a doctor says you are fine, pay close attention to bodily changes, and whether health worries get in the way of daily life. You rate each statement on five levels, and this page uses an English translation of the CareOps Korean version.
Reading your results
The total ranges from 0 to 28. The result screen shows 0–9 as below the screening threshold, 10–18 as a range where further assessment is suggested and 19–28 as higher concern. With the same score, the worry itself may be large, or you may keep checking bodily sensations, or reassurance may fade quickly, and each points to something different to work on. Worrying when you are actually unwell is natural, so new symptoms are worth checking with a clinician first. A diagnosis is made in a clinical conversation; if worries keep returning after reassurance and your life is shrinking around them, consider talking with a professional.
A question to reflect on
For a week, each time a health worry comes up, note the time, the symptom, what you did (searching, checking your body, asking someone) and how many minutes the relief lasted. Once you see how long checking actually helps, you can try delaying the next check by ten minutes.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in Health anxiety (Whiteley-7), and how long does it take?
- There are 7 questions, and it usually takes about 2 minutes. For each question you choose one of 5 answers, from “Not at all” to “Extremely”. There are no right or wrong answers.
- How is health anxiety different from caring about my health?
- Looking after your health supports your life. Health anxiety is closer to worry that comes back soon after reassurance and narrows what you do. Pay attention to the items about not feeling reassured and daily life being affected.
- Is searching symptoms online related?
- Searching can bring brief relief but can also surface frightening possibilities. This check doesn’t ask about searching directly, but it can prompt you to look at habits of watching and checking your body.
- I really am unwell, and my score is high.
- It is natural to worry more when you are actually ill. Have the symptoms checked first, then look separately at whether the worry stays high and fills much of your day.
- Do I need to sign in? Are my answers saved?
- You can see your results right away without signing in. Your answers are used only for scoring and are not stored on our servers.
- Can I bring these results into a counseling session?
- Use the analysis button at the bottom of the result screen to have a short conversation with Maeumi without signing in. After the conversation, you can continue in the app. The web conversation does not transfer automatically to the app.
- Can I share my results with a friend?
- Yes. Use Share at the top right of the result screen to send a friend the check itself, or share your result as a link or story image. A result link carries your scores inside the address only; it does not include your name or account, and nothing is saved on our side.
Pilowsky (1967) · Whiteley Index (7-item version: Fink et al. 1999)