Adapted from the PICOT Questions Template; Ellen Fineout-Overholt, 2006. This form may be used for educational & research purposes without permission.
Evidence-based Practice Handout
Introduction to PICO(T) questions and database searching
A PICO(T) question must always….
P - Population
I- Intervention Follow one of the designated templates
C - Comparison Be non-directional (i.e. unbiased)
O - Outcome Have a comparison
(T) – Time Frame Guide your search
• Have a P that matches the O
• Only include Time when it is relevant
Example of a directional PICOT and without a comparison
In patients requiring clean catch midstream urine collection, what
method of patient education will improve urine specimen
contamination rates?
Example of a directional PICOT not in the correct format
How does an education class help PACU nurses gain a basic
understanding of clinical trials compared to no formal education
given?
Example of a mismatched P and O
In nurses, how do sterile dressing changes compared to clean
technique affect infection rates?
In hospitals, how does a call bell response time of less than 5
minutes compared to greater than 5 minutes affect patient
satisfaction?
Using your PICO(T) to Guide the Search
Adapted from the PICOT Questions Template; Ellen Fineout-Overholt, 2006. This form may be used for educational & research purposes without permission.
1. Identify all the possible synonyms for each aspect of the PICOT question…..
Example: In critically ill patients, how does a preventative dressing compared to repositioning affect
pressure injury development?
P: critical care, ICU, immobile
I preventative dressing, foam dressing, sacral dressing
C repositioning, standard of care, skin bundle
O pressure injury, pressure ulcers, skin injury, deep tissue injury
T ---
2. Combine the search terms effectively (Boolean Search Logic)
“AND” logic– Using AND narrows a search by combining terms.
“OR” logic – Using OR broadens a search to include results that contain either of the
words you're looking for. OR IS MORE These terms are grouped together within a
parenthesis ( )
Phrase searching- may be done with double quotes (“ “), i.e. “ pressure injury”
Truncation - Add an * to the end of a root word to look for variations of the word
Examples: nurs* will search for nurse, nurses and nursing
child* will search for child, children, childhood, childs, childrens
genetic* will search for genetic, genetics, genetically
Examples of using synonyms from the PICO(T) to form the search strategy:
P: critical care, ICU, immobile
I preventative dressing, foam dressing, sacral dressing
C repositioning, standard of care, skin bundle
O pressure injury, pressure ulcers, skin injury, deep tissue injury
T ---
(“Critical Care” OR ICU OR Immobile OR “Critically ill”) AND (“foam dressing” OR “sacral
dressing” OR “Wound care”) AND (reposition* OR “skin bundle”) AND (injury OR ulcer* OR
“pressure ulcer”)
Adapted from the PICOT Questions Template; Ellen Fineout-Overholt, 2006. This form may be used for educational & research purposes without permission.
Template for Asking PICOT
Questions
!
INTERVENTION
In
(P), how does (I) compared
to (C) affect (O) within (T)?
THERAPY
In
(P), what is the effect of _(I) compared to
(C)
on
(O) within _(T)?
PROGNOSIS / PREDICTION
In
(P), how does (I) compared
to (C) influence (O) over (T)?
DIAGNOSIS OR
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
In
_(P) are / is _(I) compared with
(C) more accurate in diagnosing (O)?
ETIOLOGY
Are
(P), who have (I) compared with
those without _(C)
at
risk for / of (O)
over (T)?
MEANING
How do (P) with (I) perceive
(O) during (T)?
MSKCC© Revised: 08/20/2018
Short Definitions of Different Types
of
Questions
Intervention / Therapy: Question addressing the treatment of an illness or disability.
Etiology: Questions addressing the causes or origins of disease (i.e., factors that
produce or
predispose toward a certain disease or disorder).
Diagnosis: Questions addressing the act or process of identifying or determining the
nature
and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation.
Prognosis / Prediction: Questions addressing the prediction of the course of a disease.
Meaning: Questions addressing how one experiences a phenomenon.
Sample Questions:
Intervention: In African American female adolescents with hepatitis B (P), how does
acetaminophen (I) compared to ibuprofen (C) affect liver function (O)?
Therapy: In children with spastic cerebral palsy (P), what is the effect of splinting and casting (I)
compared to constraint induced therapy (C) on two handed skill development (O)?
Prognosis / Prediction:
1. For patients 65 years and older (P), how does the use of an influenza vaccine (I) compared to
not received the vaccine (C) influence the risk of developing pneumonia(O) during flu season
(T)?
2. In patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction (P), how does being a
smoker (I) compared to a nonsmoker (C) influence death and infarction rates (O) during the
first 5 years after the myocardial infarction (T)?
Diagnosis: In middle---aged males with suspected myocardial infarction (P), are serial 12 lead
ECGs (I) compared to one initial 12 lead ECG (C) more accurate in diagnosing an acute myocardial
infarction (O)?
Etiology: Are 30 to 50 year old women (P) who have high blood pressure (I) compared with
those without high blood pressure (C) at increased risk for an acute
myocardial infarction (O)
during the first year after hysterectomy (T)?
MSKCC© Revised: 08/20/2018
Meaning: How do young males (P) with a diagnosis of below the waist paralysis (I) perceive their
interactions with their romantic significant others (O) during the first year
after their diagnosis
(T)?
