What does PICO stand for in evidence-based practice?

What does PICO stand for in evidence-based practice?

• A. Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome.
• B. Population, Intervention, Control, Outcome.
• C. Population, Intervention, Comparison Intervention, Outcome.
• D. Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome.

Answer: (C)

PICO is a framework for shaping a focused clinical question in evidence-based practice by defining four elements: Population (the group or problem you’re studying), Intervention (the treatment or exposure you’re considering), Comparison (the alternative you’re comparing the Intervention against), and Outcome (the effect you want to measure). The best choice uses this exact sequence: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome. That structure keeps the question clear about who is being studied, what is being tested, what it’s being compared to, and what results you care about. The option that combines “Comparison” with “Intervention” into one term isn’t the standard way to label the components, and using “Problem” instead of “Population” changes the meaning of who is being examined. Using “Control” instead of “Comparison” narrows the framework, and “Comparison Intervention” mixes two concepts into one category, which isn’t how PICO is defined. For example: adults with hypertension (Population) receiving an ACE inhibitor (Intervention) versus placebo (Comparison) and measuring changes in systolic blood pressure (Outcome). This keeps each component distinct and aligned with how evidence is searched and appraised.

PICO is a framework for shaping a focused clinical question in evidence-based practice by defining four elements: Population (the group or problem you’re studying), Intervention (the treatment or exposure you’re considering), Comparison (the alternative you’re comparing the Intervention against), and Outcome (the effect you want to measure).

The best choice uses this exact sequence: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome. That structure keeps the question clear about who is being studied, what is being tested, what it’s being compared to, and what results you care about. The option that combines “Comparison” with “Intervention” into one term isn’t the standard way to label the components, and using “Problem” instead of “Population” changes the meaning of who is being examined. Using “Control” instead of “Comparison” narrows the framework, and “Comparison Intervention” mixes two concepts into one category, which isn’t how PICO is defined.

For example: adults with hypertension (Population) receiving an ACE inhibitor (Intervention) versus placebo (Comparison) and measuring changes in systolic blood pressure (Outcome). This keeps each component distinct and aligned with how evidence is searched and appraised.