How do I ask for help regarding PICO formatting and falls prevention

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 28, 2012

welcome to an! we are the largest nursing community on the internet. we are happy to help with home work but we won't do it for you. we will lead you to the right path and help you find the answer for yourself.

it is helpful for us to know what semester you are and how far along in the process you are so i don't have to always repeat the basics.

pico is asking a question

pico is a mnemonic used to describe the four elements of a good clinical foreground question.p--patient

i--intervention

c--comparison

o--outcome

http://www.med.yale.edu/library/nursing/education/ebhc.html

[table]

[tr]

[td]element of the clinical question

[/td]

[td]patient

describe as accurately as possible the patient or group of patients of interest

[/td]

[td]intervention (or cause, prognosis)

what is the main intervention or therapy you wish to consider?

including an exposure to disease, a diagnostic test, a prognostic factor, a treatment, a patient perception, a risk factor, etc.

[/td]

[td]comparison (optional)

is there an alternative treatment to compare?

including no disease, placebo, a different prognotic factor, absence of risk factor, etc.

[/td]

[td]outcome

what is the clincial outcome, including a time horizon if relevant?

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]example

[/td]

[td]in patients with acute bronchitis,

[/td]

[td]do antibiotics

[/td]

[td]none

[/td]

[td]reduce sputum production, cough or days off.?

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]example

[/td]

[td]in children with cancer

[/td]

[td]what are the current treatments

[/td]

[td][/td]

[td]in the management of fever and infection?

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]example

[/td]

[td]among family-members of patients undergoing diagnostic procedures

[/td]

[td]does standard care,

[/td]

[td]listening to tranquil music, or audiotaped comedy routines

[/td]

[td]make a difference in the reduction of reported anxiety.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

asking a good question (pico)picoasking the right question is a difficult skill to learn, yet it is fundamental to the evidence-based decision-making process. this process almost always begins with a patient question or problem. a "well-built" question should include four parts, referred to as pico that identify the patient problem or population (p), intervention (i), comparison © and outcome(s) (o).

the first step in developing a well-built question is to identify the patient problem or population. describe either the patient's chief complaint or generalize the patient's condition to a larger population.

when identifying the p in pico it is helpful to ask:

how could you describe a group with a similar problem?

how you would describe the patient to a colleague?

what are the important characteristics of this patient?

primary problem
patients main concern or chief complaint
disease or health status
age, race, sex, previous ailments, current medications

the

p phrase

could be more detailed if the added information influences the results you expect to find.

identifying the

intervention

is the second step in the pico process. it is important to identify

what you plan to do for that patient.

this may include the use of a specific diagnostic test, treatment, adjunctive therapy, medication or the recommendation to the patient to use a product or procedure. the intervention is the main consideration for that patient or client.

the

comparison

is the third phase of the well-built question, which is

the main alternative you are considering

. it should be specific and limited to one alternative choice in order to facilitate an effective computerized search.

the comparison is the only optional component in the pico question. one may only look at the intervention without exploring alternatives, and in some cases, there may not be an alternative.

the

outcome

is the final aspect of the pico question. it specifies the result(s) of what you plan to accomplish, improve or affect and should be measurable. outcomes may consist of:

relieving or eliminating specific symptoms

improving or maintaining function

or enhancing esthetics.

http://www.usc.edu/hsc/ebnet/ebframe/pico worksheet ss.pdf

basic evidence links

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 28, 2012

So your question is about falls....

What population of patients are you going to write about? Elderly? Inpatient acute care? Long term care? At home?

What would be your intervention/plan...

As compared to......

Your outcome.

As evidenced by....

Come back with some statements and we will try to help you further. I have posted several VERY helpful links to assist yhou in this process with resource/research sources as well.

P I C O: Formulate an Answerable Question