PICO Framework
- PICO is commonly used to frame quantitative evidence synthesis research questions and facilitate literature searching
- Elements:
- P - Patient, Problem or Population
- I - Intervention
- C - Comparison or Control
- O - Outcome
When forming your PICO question consider:
- P - demographic factors of your patient/population such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.
- C - not all PICO questions include a comparator
- O - outcomes should be measurable and aligned with clinical indicators, quality of life, etc.
- Whether your question focuses on:
- therapy
- prevention
- diagnosis
- prognosis
- etiology
- Examples of PICO by question domain:
Examples of PICO questions
Reference: Systematic Reviews in Health by Murray Turner at University of Canberra
PS Model
- Used for qualitative research questions
- Focus on patient/population experiences and situations
- P - Patient/Population
- S - Situation
- Example: How do caregiver-spouses of Alzheimer patients (P) experience placing their spouses in a nursing home (S)?
Reference: Nursing: Getting Started by McMaster Health Sciences Library
