PICO (alternately known as PICOT) is a mnemonic used to describe elements of a good clinical question. It stands for:
P: Patient / Population / Problem
I: Intervention
C: Comparison / Control group
O: Outcome
PICO Question: "In POPULATION, does INTERVENTION as compared to COMPARISON result in OUTCOME?
Some additionally add:
T: Time period
PICOT Question: "In POPULATION, does INTERVENTION as compared to COMPARISON result in OUTCOME within TIME PERIOD?
Many people find that the PICO process helps them clarify their question, which in turn makes it easier to find an answer.
Use PICO to generate terms -- you'll use some of the terms in your literature search for the current best evidence, and you'll use them in evaluating the information you do find.
