Accessing Evidence & Searching The Literature

Question 1

What is the PICO framework used for?

Answer 1

• For developing answerable questions and this was developed by Richardson et. al

Question 2

What does PICO stand for?

Answer 2

• P - Problem or population
• I - Intervention
• C - Comparator/control/comparison
• O - Outcome (what you are hoping to achieve)

Question 3

Identify PICO: Is hypnotherapy or nicotine replacement therapy more effective in contributing to smoking cessation in adults who smoke cigarettes.

Answer 3

P - Adults who smoke cigarettes

I - Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation

C - Nicotine replacement therapy

O - Smoking cessation

Question 4

Identify PICO: Will elective surgical patients whose pain is assessed using a numerical pain scale prior to surgery, compared to those whose pain is not assessed prior to surgery, report lower levels of pain post-surgery?

Answer 4

P - Elective surgical patients

I - Those whose pain is assessed using a pain scale prior to surgery

C - Those whose pain is not assessed prior to surgery

O - Lower levels of pain post-surgery

Question 5

Identify PICO: In patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, is bariatric surgery more effective than standard medical therapy at increasing the probability of remission of diabetes?

Answer 5

P - Patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity

I - Bariatric surgery

C - Standard medical therapy

O - Increasing the probability of remission of diabetes

Question 6

When is PEO used and what does it stand for?

Answer 6

PEO is used for health issues of a more general nature.

P - Population

E - Exposure (e.g. The patient’s condition)

O - Outcome

Question 7

Identify PEO: What is the impact on male carers of providing care to their partners who has a diagnosis of cancer?

Answer 7

P - Male carers of partners who have cancer

E - Cancer

O - Impact on male carers

Question 8

Identify PEO: What are the lived experiences of children with asthma?

Answer 8

P - Children with asthma

E - Asthma

O - Lived experiences

Question 9

What is the difference between PICO and PEO?

Answer 9

• PICO is used to generate Quantitative Research Evidence (how one thing compares to another)
• PEO is used to generate Qualitative Research Evidence

Question 10

What is the 4’S organisation of evidence from research model?

Answer 10

• Systems - E.g. computerised decision support system
• Synopses - E.g. Cochrane Evidence Summaries and BMJ’s nursing journal
• Syntheses - Cochrane reviews
• Studies - Original published articles in journals

Question 11

What are the gold standards of evidence?

Answer 11

• Clinical guidelines - E.g. NICE
• Systematic Reviews - E.g. Cochrane
• Meta-analysis

Question 12

What is the gold standard of information sources?

Answer 12

Health information portals:

• NICE
• TRIP
• BestBETS

Question 13

In what ways can you search databases?

Answer 13

• Boolean operators (AND/OR)
• Wildcards
• Inclusion/exclusion criteria

Question 14

What does using AND in a database search do?

Answer 14

Finds records containing all terms separated by the operator, makes your search more specific and reduces the number of results returned

Question 15

What does using OR in a database search do?

Answer 15

Finds records containing any of the terms separated by the operator and thus increases the number of results returned

Question 16

What does using SAME in a database search do?

Answer 16

• Finds records where the terms separated by the operator appear in the same sentence.
• Using the SAME operator instead of AND narrows your search

Question 17

What does using NOT in a database search do?

Answer 17

Excludes records containing certain words from your search

Question 18

What are systematic reviews?

Answer 18

A systematic review collates all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. It uses explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view to minimizing bias, thus providing more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions made.