PICO Search
PICO Video: Formulating Your Question Using PICO
In evidence-based nursing, it's important to have an answerable question. The PICO framework can help you identify the major elements of your topic so that you can translate them into an effective literature search.
"Nursing Research: Formulating Your Question Using PICO" by Carrie Price, MLS, Albert S. Cook Library, Towson University is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Helpful PICOT Resources
Within this page are tabs specific to understanding Step 1: Formulating the clinical question. Included is a brief video, worksheets for creating a PICOT and an interactive PICO tutorial to build your PICOT search strategy.
Watch this video to learn to focus and refine your PICOT question using some simple search strategies.
Use these worksheets to help guide your search strategy and to create a researchable PICOT question:
PICO Worksheet and Search Strategy (Adapted from: Miller. 2001. National Center for Dental Hygiene Research)
PICOT is a bridge from creating a well-designed question to choosing the best concepts to search the literature.
Example Scenario: You are a nurse that is wondering if t'ai chi can be an effective therapy for preventing or reducing the risk of falls in the elderly population.
Once you choose your PICOT, the next step is to create a focused question using effective search concepts:
PICOT Question: In elderly adults, how does t'ai chi, compared to no exercise, affect fall rates within 6 months?
Once you create your focused PICOT question, you can begin to search the literature for relevant articles. Note: It is always helpful to think of synonyms and related concepts to use as additional search terms.
Patient/Population: In elderly patients at risk for falling
Synonyms: seniors, geriatric, aged, 65+ years old
Related Concepts: community dwelling, nursing home
Intervention: T'ai chi
Synonyms: t'ai ji
Related concepts: martial arts, yoga, karate, qui gong
Comparison: compared to not practicing t'ai chi
No Comparison
Outcome: reduce falls
Synonyms: accidental falls, trip, stumble, falling
Time: over 6 month period
This PICO tutorial from Arizona State University includes brief interactive quizzes to help you develop a PICO question before searching the literature.
Gallagher Ford, L., & Melnyk, B. M. (2019). The Underappreciated and Misunderstood PICOT Question: A Critical Step in the EBP Process. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 16(6), 422–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12408
Disclaimer
Non-Mount Carmel organizations referenced on this website are identified for informational purposes only. Mount Carmel is not endorsing these organizations. The services these organizations provide, and the values or opinions they express, may not be consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Mount Carmel makes no representations concerning the conduct or beliefs of these organizations.