ABSTRACT
This chapter systematically considers each of these five steps. It builds upon the earlier chapters in this part on epidemiology and research methods and statistics.
Many questions emerge in the course of clinical practice. One model for translating uncertainty into an answerable question is to break it down into four parts known by the acronym PICO:
For example, imagine you are faced with the following clinical situation:
Mrs B is a 31-year-old single mother with three primary schoolaged children. She has suffered from recurrent episodes of
depression since the age of 23 years. The latest depressive episode is severe, she is not eating and she is barely drinking. The treatment options include electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and antidepressant medication.
