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Evidence-Based Practice: Asking Questions

Question Formulation

"Formulating a well-focused question is the first and arguably the most important step in the EBM process. Without a well-focused question, it can be very difficult and time consuming to identify appropriate resources and search for relevant evidence."

From: Schardt C, Adams MB, Owens T, Keitz S, Fontelo P. Utilization of the PICO framework to improve searching PubMed for clinical questions. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2007 Jun 15;7:16. PubMed PMID: 17573961; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1904193.

PICOT Video

PICOT

Image from Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries

Types of Questions

Diagnosis - Helps with choice of tests and interpretation of test results

Therapy - Helps with choice of treatment

Prognosis - Looks at the clinical course of disease
 
Harm/Etiology - Investigates causes of disease

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