The library has a research guide page in our Nursing guide dedicated to evidence-based practice. Please see this page in our Nursing guide to learn more about what it is, and how to do it using OneSearch. Even though you are PTA student, this information will be useful.
A PICO(T) question is a mnemonic to help you create a research question in health sciences research. As a PTA student, you will probably be asked to create a PICO(T) question as part of many research assignments.
Each letter spells out parts of your research question. (If you need help with research questions in general, please take a look at this Developing a Research Question Page.) Using a PICO(T) will also force you to incorporate evidence-based practice. See what each letter stands for below:
P = Patient, population, or problem
Who is your patient, or group of patients? Alternatively, what kind of problem are you trying to solve?
I = Intervention
What treatment protocol are you using?
C = Comparison or control
You'll want to compare those receiving treatment with a control group that is not. This way you can determine whether or not it was the treatment that worked, or something else entirely.
O = Outcome or objective
What is the desired outcome of the above intervention?
T = Time frame
What is the desired time frame for this outcome? You probably noticed that the "T" is in parenthesis. This is because the time frame is not always used and this is a more recent addition to the PICO(T).
Some examples:
In patients recovering from a grade 1 sprained ankle, how does using RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) compare to not for making a full recovery over the next six months?
Patient = patients with a grade 1 sprained ankle
Intervention = RICE
Control = not using RICE
Outcome = full recovery
Time frame = six months
A common example given is:
In patients recovering from abdominal surgery, is there evidence that suggests gum-chewing postoperatively, compared to not chewing gum, impacts postoperative ileus?
Patient = patients recovering from abdominal surgery
Intervention = chewing gum
Control = not chewing gum
Outcome = avoiding ileus
Time frame = This example does not have a "t" for the time frame