Question

A nurse researcher develops a foreground question in preparation for conducting a research study. The question is: "In clients with intravenous catheters, how does replacing administration sets every 72 hours (h) compared with other frequent intervals (24h, 48h, or 96h) decrease infection rates?" Applying the PICO framework, which part of the statement reflects the "O"?

Answer 1

Answer:

PICO is a mnemonic system that is much used in evidence-based practice both in Medicine and Nursing. This system allows a researcher in a medical field to evaluate all aspects of a situation, or health condition, being studied and respond to all the necessary questions in an organized and integral form. PICO, stands for the following: P: patient, problem or population, I: Intervention, C: Comparisson, control, and O: Outcomes.

In the case of this question, the nurse researcher wishes to ascertain the effectiveness of replacing intravenous catheters in patients with a frequency of 72 hour-intervals between changes in diminishing infection rates due to this nursing procedure. In order to fully research the validity of such a question, of the ensuing experimentation, observation and gathering of data, and the release of valid results, this researcher will use PICO as her guiding framework. As the question requests, then, the O in this system would apply to the expected result, or the outcome, expected from applying the thesis of the researcher. That would be: "the decrease infection rates."