Nursing: PICO Search

PICO 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.

Click on this link for a brief video tutorial (1:57) on how to use PICO to form a research question.