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
Use these worksheets to create a researchable question using the P.I.C.O.T. formula
PICO Worksheet and Search Strategy (Adapted from: Miller. 2001. National Center for Dental Hygiene Research)
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: 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: reduced falls
Synonyms: accidental falls, trip, stumble, falling
Time: over 6 month period
Provides an example of a poorly written PICOT question and a well-written PICOT question:
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
Seven Steps to the Perfect PICO Search: Evidence-Based Nursing Practice:
OVERVIEW Searching for high-quality clinical research evidence can be a daunting task, yet it is an integral part of the evidence-based practice process. One way to streamline and improve the research process for nurses and researchers of all backgrounds is to utilize the PICO search strategy. PICO is a format for developing a good clinical research question prior to starting one’s research. It is a mnemonic used to describe the four elements of a sound clinical foreground question (Yale University’s Cushing/Whitney Medical Library)
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