Asking clinical questions
Ask valid clinical questions using the PICO framework
Well-built clinical questions are structured in two different ways: Background questions and foreground questions.
Background questions are asked to obtain pertinent knowledge about a given disease state, diagnostic test, or treatment regimen. These types of questions are more focused towards learning general information regarding the etiology, prognosis, and diagnosis of various disease states and physiological phenomena.
Background questions have two components:
1. A question root (who, what, where, when, how, why) and a verb
2. A disease state, diagnostic test, treatment, or medicine
Background questions are asked to obtain pertinent knowledge about a given disease state, diagnostic test, or treatment regimen. These types of questions are more focused towards learning general information regarding the etiology, prognosis, and diagnosis of various disease states and physiological phenomena.
Background questions have two components:
1. A question root (who, what, where, when, how, why) and a verb
2. A disease state, diagnostic test, treatment, or medicine
Ask foreground clinical questions using PICO
Foreground questions are asked to obtain clinical evidence to inform upon decisions in the current patient environment. This type of question has a singular focus on precise and accurate clinical data that can impact direct patient care.
Foreground questions follow the PICO framework for subsequent components:
1. P - Patient, population, problem
2. I - Intervention, exposure, test, or agent
3. C - Comparison intervention, control group
4. O - Outcome that is clinically relevant
Foreground questions follow the PICO framework for subsequent components:
1. P - Patient, population, problem
2. I - Intervention, exposure, test, or agent
3. C - Comparison intervention, control group
4. O - Outcome that is clinically relevant
Where do clinical questions come from?
Now that we know how to structure a research question, one must know where research questions come from, or in some cases, where to look! Certain issues that come up in the course of patient care naturally lead to asking clinical questions:
1. Clinical findings yielded from patient examinations and tests
2. Identifying the potential etiology and risk of disease states
3. Diagnosis of a patient's clinical issues
4. Applying and interpreting the results of diagnostic tests
5. Understanding the progression and prognosis associated with a disease
6. Choosing the best treatments for patients
7. Preventing disease by identifying risk factors and preemptive screening for certain prevalent disease states
8. Providing patients with relevant information regarding their clinical issues
9. Continuing to learn and grow as a clinician by applying newest, evidence-based, and appropriate tests and interventions
1. Clinical findings yielded from patient examinations and tests
2. Identifying the potential etiology and risk of disease states
3. Diagnosis of a patient's clinical issues
4. Applying and interpreting the results of diagnostic tests
5. Understanding the progression and prognosis associated with a disease
6. Choosing the best treatments for patients
7. Preventing disease by identifying risk factors and preemptive screening for certain prevalent disease states
8. Providing patients with relevant information regarding their clinical issues
9. Continuing to learn and grow as a clinician by applying newest, evidence-based, and appropriate tests and interventions
Click on the Acquiring Clinical Evidence button to continue.
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