search engine Google will soon start service that lets people check their mental health online. People searching for "depression" on Google's search page will get link to questionnaire along with their search result. questionnaire will check to see if you could be suffering from depression. There are nine questions on self-assessment. Google has partnered with America's National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on project. NAMI spokesperson said Google users can take private questionnaire to help them find out how depressed they are. He said this could help people decide if they need to see doctor. The questionnaire will initially only be available for Internet users in the USA.
Google's blog said questionnaire could help people get treatment for depression more quickly. It said: "Statistics show that those who have symptoms of depression experience average of a six- to eight-year delay in getting treatment after onset of symptoms. We believe that awareness of depression can help empower and educate you, enabling quicker access to treatment." However, Dr Aaron Balick, expert on how websites can help people, said Google's questionnaire was same as reading any online information about depression. He told BBC: " better approach would be…offering [people] resources and direct line - perhaps chat box - to local psychological services."
