PICO, or the variations PICOT or PICOS, are among the most common strategies researchers use in the health sciences to formulate a clinical question. An example of a well-constructed question following the PICO format:
In pediatric patients admitted to the PICU (P), does the implementation of a comprehensive care plan (I) compared to standard PICU care (C) reduce the incidence of PICU-acquired complications (O)?
PICO works best for formulating clinical research questions.
Since question formulation is central to the evidence-based practice (EBP)/evidence-based medicine (EBM) process, clinical research questions are typically complex and using PICO not only helps break down the question so that searching for information becomes more manageable, but also so that it is clear which previous studies will be most relevant in answering the question.
Giving your ideas this structure early in the research process helps clarify your research later on to readers of your research, too!
