The most appropriate comparator might be no treatment or placebo, variations of normal care, or alternative competing interventions. It might be necessary to clarify the intervention and comparator in some detail, including mode of administration, dosage, duration of treatment, or the different elements that make up a complex intervention. Interventions might range from a diagnostic or screening test to a therapeutic intervention of any kind. For the population, this might refer to people with a medical condition, or at risk of illness, and it may be important to specify stage of disease or clinical context. The population and intervention should be specific but bearing in mind that if any or both are described too narrowly, it may be difficult to find relevant studies or sufficient data to demonstrate a reliable answer. Outcomes: what are the consequences of the interventions for the patient? Or what are the main outcomes of interest to the patient or decision maker?Įxample: …lead to higher live birth rates with no increase in multiple pregnancy, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy rates?Ī clear and focused question is more likely to lead to a credible and useful answer, but a poorly formulated question can lead to an uncertain answer and create confusion.Comparator: what is the main comparator to the intervention that you want to assess?Įxample: …when compared with fallopian tube sperm perfusion….Intervention: what intervention is being considered?Įxample: …would intrauterine insemination….Population: who are the relevant patients or the target audience for the problem being addressed?Įxample: In women with non-tubal infertility.The PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcomes) model captures the key elements and is a good strategy to provide answerable questions. Clarifying the key elements of the question is a critical first step towards providing an answer to inform a decision, or for a researcher to frame the research to be done. It is important that these questions are answered in an evidence-based manner. Clinical questions arise continuously in daily clinical practice.

Clarify questions