PICO or PICOT is an acronym describing a format that you can use to develop a clinical research question. By identifying terms related to each of the four PICO elements, you will be able to perform more precise database searches.
P - Patient population (may be an individual or group)
I - Intervention (the treatment being considered)
C - Comparison (the absence of the treatment, alternative treatment, or control group)
O - Outcome (the result being sought)
(T) - In some cases, the Time frame needed to reach the desired outcome is included. It can also stand for Type of study i.e., randomized control trial, systematic review, or meta-analysis.
PICO/PICOT Example
You have a patient with knee osteoarthritis. You wonder if aquatic therapy would work to improve pain management versus regular physical therapy.
| Patient population | Patients with knee osteoarthritis |
| Intervention | Aquatic therapy |
| Comparison | Regular physical therapy |
| Outcome | Improved pain management |
| Time or Type of study | Length of time or type of study i.e., randomized control trial or systematic review. |
Turn the PICO/PICOT into a question.
Question: Does aquatic therapy provide improved pain management in patients with knee osteoarthritis rather than regular physical therapy?
PICO/PICOT question into searches
The PICO/PICOT question can be used to create a search query in a database like PubMed or CINAHL.
| Population | Intervention | Comparison | Outcome | |||
|
adult OR adults knee osteoarthritis |
AND |
aquatic therapy OR hydrotherapy OR aquatic exercise OR water exercise |
AND | Exercise therapy | AND |
reduce pain OR lower pain OR pain management |
Note the following:
Based on Washtenaw Community College – Bailey Library, Physical Therapist Assistant LibGuide, PICO Question..
Use MeSH and CINAHL Headings to look up the database description of the modality you are researching. Some suggested physical therapy modalities include:
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