PICO
The first stage of any evidence-based practice process is formulating an answerable question. This forms the foundation for quality searching. A well-formulated question will facilitate the search for evidence and will assist you in determining whether the evidence is relevant to your question.
An answerable question has a format that follows the PICO concept. The acronym translates to:
- P – Populations/People/Patient/Problem
- I – Intervention(s)
- C – Comparison
- O – Outcome
The question used in this guide was developed using the PICO concept. View the completed form.
"What interventions reduce the incidence and severity of bed sores in residents of aged care facilities?"
This website from the University of Wisconsin-Madison may help you to understand and use the PICO concept to create a search strategy.
