
When you formulate a PICO question, you are creating a formula that does several things:
- Focus the question by identifying the components or concepts in the question
- Defines the concepts that will be used when performing a complex literature search
- Used to ascertain which articles in a search retrieval best address the question
- Helps determine if studies found address the components of the original question
How to formulate a Pico question?
original PICO question. STEP 1: FORMULATE THE PICO QUESTION Case Scenario: You are a Registered Nurse working on a Urology unit. One of your patients is a 55-year-old man who is recovering from abdominal surgery – specifically a laparoscopic prostatectomy. The patient complains of abdominal pain and nausea.
How to create a Pico question?
PICO Question Template Examples. It can be helpful to classify your question based on the clinical domain (s) it falls under. See below for definitions, PICO templates, and example questions from the primary clinical domains: intervention, diagnosis, etiology, prevention, prognosis/prediction, quality of life/meaning, and therapy.
How to phrase a Pico question?
When you formulate a PICO question, you are creating a formula that does several things:
- Focus the question by identifying the components or concepts in the question
- Defines the concepts that will be used when performing a complex literature search
- Used to ascertain which articles in a search retrieval best address the question
- Helps determine if studies found address the components of the original question
How to write a Pico research question?
- Clinicians should frame practice-based research questions in the PICOT format
- Look to existing literature for guidance in the formulation of a research question
- Clinicians have an important role in contributing to the integrated knowledge translation of research studies

What is the purpose of a PICO question?
The Purpose of PICO form a question that focuses on the most important issue for a patient or a population. identify key terms to use in a search for evidence. select results that directly relate to the situation.
Why is a well structured clinical question important?
1. They help you focus on evidence that is directly relevant to patients' clinical needs. 2. They help you focus on evidence that directly addresses clinicians' or learners' knowledge needs.
Why is a focused question important?
The more focused your study question is, the higher the likelihood that you will be able to find a meaningful answer to it.
What are the advantages of formulating questions to PICO format?
Focusing Clinical Questions PICO makes this process easier. It is a mnemonic for the important parts of a well-built clinical question. It also helps formulate the search strategy by identifying the key concepts that need to be in the article that can answer the question.
Why is it important to ensure your Picot is based on a nursing practice problem?
The PICOT is based on a nursing practice problem because it is designed to improve patient care. An example of using PICOT for evidence-based practice would be studying the frequency of oral care with the goal of reducing the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonias. It is not designed for disease research.
What is PICO framework?
The PICO process (or framework) is a mnemonic used in evidence-based practice (and specifically evidence-based medicine) to frame and answer a clinical or health care related question. The PICO framework is also used to develop literature search strategies, for instance in systematic reviews.
What is a PICO question example?
PICO Examples Describe as accurately as possible the patient or group of patients of interest. 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.
What is the PICO model?
What is the PICO Model? The PICO Model is a format to help define your information need into a clinical question. By organizing a clinical question using PICO, the searcher can use the specific terms to aid in finding clinically relevant evidence in the literature.
What is PICO
PICO is a way to help structure a research question and then take that question and translate it into search phrases.
What PICO means
P: Population/disease ( i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, with a certain disorder)
Sample PICO Questions Using the Templates
In school-age children (P), what is the effect of a school-based physical activity program (I) on a reduction in the incidence of childhood obesity (O) compared with no intervention (C) within a 1 year period (T)?
How to do a picot search?
With the scenario in mind, researchers use seven steps to the PICOT search: 1 Formulate the PICOT question in general terms: Based on the EBSCO Health example, the research question would be, “In patients recovering from abdominal surgery, is there evidence that suggests gum-chewing postoperatively, compared to not chewing gum, impacts postoperative ileus?” 2 Identify the keywords for the PICOT mnemonic:#N#P – Patients recovering from abdominal surgery#N#I – Gum chewing#N#C – Not chewing gum#N#O – Impacts post-operative ileus 3 Plan the search strategy: With the question in mind, researchers consider which databases and other search sites they might use to find information and answers. Researchers use strategies to maximize their search terms such as looking up synonyms and phrases that mean the same thing. 4 Execute a search: At first, researchers search each PICOT element individually. For example, when researching patients recovering from abdominal surgery, use the search terms “abdominal surgery,” but also consider the search terms “recovery and postoperative.” 5 Refine the results: Narrow the search results by limiting the works to pertinent content, such as articles from peer-reviewed journals or research documents. 6 Review the content: Review the research results to establish if they have the necessary information to answer the PICOT question. 7 Determine if research results meet standards: After reviewing the research results, determine whether they provide the best available evidence.
What is the PICOT process?
The PICOT process generally begins with a vague clinical query. Each element of the process helps develop a well-structured question. Once established, researchers can search for evidence that will help answer the inquiry.
