Capstone project PICOT question

Description

A PICOT question is a structured way of framing a clinical research question, particularly in the field of nursing and healthcare. It helps guide the search for evidence and develop a clear, focused question for research or evidence-based practice.

The acronym PICOT stands for:

• P (Patient, Population, or Problem): Who is the patient or what is the specific population or problem you are focusing on? This could include factors like age, gender, disease condition, or setting.
• I (Intervention): What is the intervention you are considering? This could be a treatment, procedure, diagnostic test, or other healthcare intervention.
• C (Comparison): What is the alternative to the intervention? This is often a comparison between two treatments or a comparison between a treatment and no treatment. Sometimes, there might not be a comparison if you’re only focusing on the effect of one intervention.
• O (Outcome): What outcome are you hoping to measure or achieve? This could be improvements in health, reduction of symptoms, increased recovery speed, etc.
• T (Time): Over what time frame are you measuring the outcomes? This could range from a few hours to several months or years, depending on the study.

A well-defined PICOT question makes it easier to search for relevant research evidence and guides the design of studies to answer clinical questions more effectively.

Use this PICOT question focused on wound care:

P: In patients with diabetic foot ulcers (P),
I: how does the use of advanced wound dressings (e.g., hydrocolloid or foam dressings) (I),
C: compared to standard gauze dressings (C),
O: affect the rate of wound healing and prevention of infection (O)
T: over a 12-week period (T)?