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Nursing & Health Sciences

Resources relevant to students in Nursing and other allied health fields

What is PICO(T)?

The PICO(T) framework is used widely in evidence-based practice (EBP) to construct a focused, searchable, and answerable clinical question.

PICOT Elements

Who is your patient? (Disease or Health status, age, race, sex)

What do you plan to do for the patient? (Specific tests, therapies, medications)

 What is the alternative to your plan? (ie. No treatment, different type of treatment, etc.)

What outcome do you seek? (Less symptoms, no symptoms, full health, etc.)

Note: To minimize confirmation bias in search results, it is typically recommended to exclude outcome-related search terms from your literature search.

 What is the time frame? (This element is not always included.)

Levels of Evidence

Critical Appraisal