for Nursing Research Class in Aultman College

1. O R I G I N A L L Y P R E P A R E D B Y T H E R E S A K L I N E , M L I S
K R Y S T A L K S L I V K A , M L S
L I B R A R I A N
3 3 0 - 3 6 3 - 3 8 3 3
K R Y S T A L . S L I V K A @ A U L T M A N . C O M
N U R S I N G R E S E A R C H L I B G U I D E :
H T T P : / / A U L T M A N . L I B G U I D E S . C O M / N U R S I N G R E S E A R C H
Nursing Research:
Using PICO Format &
Medical Subject Headings

2. Objectives
 Use the PICO format to form the search query and
assist in selecting search terms
 Choose appropriate Databases/Resources
 Use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to retrieve
better, more relevant citations

3. Refine Your Research Question –PICO Format
 P Patient, Problem
 Patient Population, Problems associated with group, etc.
 I Intervention, Exposure
 Interventions or Treatments
 C Comparison, Control
 Compare to Alternative Treatments or Interventions, or to a
Control group
 O Outcome
 What you hope to accomplish

4. PICO Format Example
Scenario: I am an RN who works on a geriatric ward
and have many patients with arthritis. I’m wondering
if massage therapy will help ease their arthritis pain?
P = Geriatric Patients with arthritis
I = massage therapy
C = Geriatric patients with arthritis NOT receiving
treatment
O = reduced arthritic pain

5. New PICO Question
Do geriatric patients receiving massages have lessened
arthritic pain (feel better) compared to those that do not?
Search Terms
Inpatients
Osteoarthritis
Massage OR Massage Therapy
Pain OR Satisfaction
Limits – English, Aged, possibly time period 5 years…

6. PICO Example
 Clinical problem: My 45 year old male patient has
Type 2 diabetes for which he receives insulin
treatment. He would like to know if exercise can
help manage Diabetes.
What is my PICO question???

7. PICO Example
 Clinical problem: My 45 year old male patient has
Type 2 diabetes for which he receives insulin
treatment. He would like to know if exercise can
help manage Diabetes.
What is my PICO question???
Will exercise likely reduce insulin usage in a middle-
aged male?

8. Databases: Where to Start
• CINAHL
• Full text of over 770 nursing and allied health journals, books, &
conference proceedings
• Cochrane Library
• Evidence-based medicine. Systematic reviews, controlled trials,
methodology reviews
• ProQuest Nursing Journals
• Full text of over 850 nursing, allied health, and consumer health
titles
• PubMed
• Covers medicine, nursing, and health care system. 24 million +
citations from journals and books

9. Databases: Selection
• All of the suggested databases are generated by
subject specialists
• Most provide added indexing terms – preferably
controlled vocabulary
• AVOID Google, Yahoo, Bing Searches – these are
mega-crawlers that index everything (nearly) that they
find with no consideration of its authenticity. Google
Scholar is an exception and can be useful, but the four
databases previously listed, are really better choices

10. Medline - Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
 Fixed, controlled vocabulary used by MEDLINE
indexers
 Pull together many words that mean the same thing
Example: Heart Attack, Myocardial Infarction
 Shows hierarchy (broader and narrower terms)
 Much more specific information than keyword
searching

11. PubMed – Includes Medline
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?holding=ohahf
lib_fft&otools=ohiolink

12. PubMed – Search Box

13. PubMed – MeSH Heading Search Results

14. PubMed – MeSH Heading Search Results

15. PubMed – Subheadings

16. PubMed - Hierarchy

17. PubMed Search Builder

18. PubMed Search Details

19. PubMed Search ADVANCED Options

20. PubMed Search Builder

21. PubMed Results
Arthritis (keyword search)
269,295 results
Osteoarthritis (keyword search)
63,145 results
Osteoarthritis/therapy (MeSH)
25,147 results
Osteoarthritis/therapy (MeSH)
AND Massage (MeSH)
45 results

22. PubMed Tutorials
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html
 Quick Tours
 Webcasts
 Handouts
 Much more….

23. Review Objectives
 Use the PICO format to form the search query and
assist in selecting search terms
 Choose appropriate Databases/Resources
 Use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to retrieve
better, more relevant citations

24. Questions?
Library Staff are available to assist you with this
process
Please look at the PubMed Tutorials – they are
excellent …