PICO

PICO: Developing the Answerable Clinical Question
Student’s NameInstitutional Affiliation
PICO: Developing the Answerable Clinical Question
. The right question is more important than the right answer. Asking the correct question is an integral part of scientific inquiry. The right problem is one that helps explicitly in identifying actionable knowledge necessary for the scientific investigations. The actionable information then informs the best course of action to be taken. For instance, for a patient suffering from a common cold it, is possible to inquire as to what causes the common cold. However, an inquiry as to the effectiveness of treating a common cold using vitamin c is a better clinical question compared to the latter: it is more specific. The PICO method is a process through which information required to answer a clinical question is formulated.
Unlike PICO is an acronym for Patient, Intervention/prognostic factor/exposure, Comparison, and Outcome. These four elements make up the PICO system. They identify the subject of the question usually the patient, the treatment offered, and analysis with an alternative intervention with all these analyzed in light of a specific outcome (LHSPeoria., 2016). PICO, therefore, is an active mechanism of searching for background information that is specific and relevant to a particular set of facts. Example of a PICO question: “a 65-year-old African American with a history of heart attack in their family, who has been experiencing heart attack like symptoms wants to know if taking Lipitor oral as primary prevention of heart attack is an effective preventive measure compared to a healthy low-fat diet and exercise.

” The question highlighted is an example of a preventive problem, and hence, an expectation of finding randomize control trail or the effectiveness of the chosen intervention.
Reference
LHSPeoria. (2016). PICO: Developing the Answerable Clinical Question. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGJoN2NHc8&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].