Decision making is very relevant in nursing in order to come up with the best decision that will benefit the patients. One of the ways of going about it is by employing a tool known as PICO. PICO is an approach to guide the nurses and other health care professionals to formulate precise questions that they want to answer and how to obtain the best evidence for answering them.
PICO stands for
- P: Patient or Population – Which patient or patients’ group?
- I: Intervention – What has been proposed to be done or given to the patient?
- C: Comparison – Is there another treatment with which this treatment can be compared?
- O: Operation – What action is needed to cause the outcome?
By using PICO, the nurses are in a position to develop meager and precise questions enabling them to search for the right information. An understanding of PICO is important for performing an evidence-based nursing praxis.
With the help of PICO, one is also able to minimize the uncertainty level that one has when it comes to selecting treatment options, rather than practicing an educated guess. That is why this enhances patient’s satisfaction, and the care they receive is evidence-based.
Example of a PICO Question in Nursing
To better explain the thought process of using case mix, let’s consider a hypothetical case of a nurse who needs to find out how to prevent pressure ulcers (bedsores) in patients who are confined to their beds. The nurse is pondering as to whether such special pressure-relieving mattresses could be more effective than the common hospital mattresses.
- P (Patient/Population/Problem): Beds ridden patients who are at a high risk of developing pressure ulcers in their body.
- I (Intervention): Reducing health-care costs by employing unique pressure-relieving mattresses.
- C (Comparison): Applying standard hospital mattresses into this bed system.
- O (Outcome): Pressure ulcers: decreased incidence of.
After putting this framework in, the question will be: In bedridden patients, does the application of pressure-relieving mattresses as opposed to standard hospital mattresses decrease pressure ulcer incidence?
In this case, this formulated PICO question is precise and clear which enables the nurse to find adequate research or evidence to support the formulated question. By identifying and evaluating such evidence, the nurse can make an effective decision on which type of mattresses should be used in this process and thereby enhance patient care.
Application of PICO in Nursing Practice
PICO is a powerful tool that is important in the daily working of a nurse in that it can be used to enhance care provision through the application of evidence.
- Identifying a Clinical Issue
Some of the matters, which are usually met by nurses, are associated with getting to such problems in relation to patients’ treatment. For instance, a nurse may raise a question like; Can the patient benefit from a new drug or a different approach to treatment as compared to the current one? When these issues have been identified, the ability to develop a PICO question is made easier.
- Formulating a PICO Question
After seeing a clinical issue, the nurse can come up with a question that will be specific, focused and precise with the help of PICO. For instance, if a nurse is to explore if there exist other efficient ways to address pain among post-surgery patients then they will form the question using PICO format in a way that is easy to research.
- Searching for Evidence
In the case where a nurse formulates a valid PICO question, then this may help in searching for relevant medical databases, journals, among other sources of evidence. Because the question is specific, one omits a large number of studies which are related but not pertinent, making the process faster and more effective.
- Evaluating the Evidence
Once the nurse has obtained information, the nurse goes over it to identify which of the available related researches are most relevant to the client. This process makes certain that the nurse applies the best evidence possible for clinical practice.
- Applying the Evidence
The nurse then implements the findings from the evidence into the care of the patient. For instance if the information obtained from research shows that a certain type of bandage minimizes infection risk more than the existing one, the nurse may suggest the new bandage.
- Assessing Outcomes
To assess if the goal is met after using evidence-based intervention the nurse observes the patient. If the outcome is positive, then it also means that the decision implemented was efficient. If not, further evaluation may be called for by the nurse and consider other modalities.
Conclusion
PICO is an important concept in nursing that is used to facilitate EBP and that cannot be overlooked. The integration of PICO into the everyday practice of nursing allows increasing nurses’ efficiency in the finding of recent research findings and enhances the quality of the performed activities. Dealing with frequently encountered clinical questions or more complex concerns, PICO guarantees that nursing interventions are evidence-based, positively affecting patient’s and the general healthcare system’s outcomes.
One special reminder that should be encouraged to all the nurses is that it is advisable to start practicing PICO regularly. You will not only improve the personal professional growth but also contribute to the development of nursing as the academic discipline and practice area devoted to the provision of high-quality patient care.
FAQs
What is a PICO Question in Emergency Nursing?
An example of a PICO question in emergency nursing may be, which method minimizes pain associated with fractures among the patients?
PICO Question: Pain relief time in adults with bone fractures in Emergency Department: a comparison between IV and oral analgesia
This question assists the nurse to decide the least invasive method of pain control through reviewing the literature available.
What is a PICO Question About Infection?
An example of developing a PICO question related to infection would therefore be: ‘Should surgical patients be kept infection-free?’
PICO Question: Among surgical patients, does application of alcohol-based antiseptic decrease the occurrence of postoperative infections as compared with non-alcohol-based antiseptic?
This question is intended to evaluate the best form of combating post-surgery infections through different antiseptic testing.
What is the PICO Method in Nursing?
The PICO method in nursing is a systematic approach to formulate specific questions that assist the nurses in defining the best available evidence for patient care. PICO also assists the nurses to formulate their questions in the correct format and as a result they are able to find research that supports their practice. This method forms the major part of the evidence based nursing practice models.
