PICO process

PICO refers to a commonly used auxiliary schema of evidence- based medicine to formulate a searchable question in health care. It was developed by McMaster University in Chicago (USA).

Objective

With the Pico - a model defining the parameters for questions to be created in order to achieve the desired result. From the combinations of parameters potentially useful questions arise. In formulating each question, it is necessary to find a compromise between the desire for the best information, the reality of the limited availability of data, the study design and the available resources.

Search strategy

The search strategy for the scientific literature begins with the preparation of the research using the Pico - model. In the second step, the corresponding specialized databases are selected. This is followed by further processing the results and ends with the documentation of the search strategy.

Acronym

PICO is an acronym for:

Example

Example of a question in the health care

  • Population = patients with diabetes mellitus type I
  • Intervention = insulin analogues
  • Comparison = Inhaled insulin
  • Outcome = quality of life
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