PICO

Hi there! I've done several evidence based research papers in nursing school using PICOs. The PICO is basically the fundamental question that you are going to research and try to answer. It stands for:

P: Population/disease (i.e. age group, gender, ethnicity, pts with a certain disorder...)

I: Intervention or Variable of Interest (exposure to a disease, risk behavior...)

C: Comparison (not always necessary, but i.e. a placebo, absence of risk factor...)

O: Outcome (risk of disease, accuracy of diagnosis, rate of occurrence...)

Once you look around and find an area of interest, specify these P, I, C, O components and then you can put together the PICO Question itself. My teacher gave us some templates for PICO questions that really help:

For a therapy:

In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with _______©?

For etiology:

Are ____ (P) who have _______ (I) at ___ (Increased/decreased) risk for/of_______ (O) compared with ______ (P) with/without ______ ©?

For Diagnosis or diagnostic test:

Are (is) _________ (I) more accurate in diagnosing ________ (P) compared with ______ © for _______ (O)?

For Prevention:

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ ©?

For Prognosis:

Does __________ (I) influence ________ (O) in patients who have _______ (P)?

For a Meaning:

How do ________ (P) diagnosed with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O)?

(Based on Melnyk B. & Fineout-Overholt E. (2005). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.)

I hope this helps!

Does high patients satisfaction scores in the care of orthopedic pt.>21yrs old lead to improved healing? Is this a good pico question