A Review of the PubMed PICO Tool: Using Evidence-Based Practice in Health Education

Abstract

The PubMed PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) tool from the National Library of Medicine provides health education professionals and students a method to conduct evidence-based practice literature searches to enhance the quality of new and existing health education interventions and programs. This review provides an overview on evidence-based practice, an overview of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc. competencies related to evidence-based practice. It introduces the PubMed PICO tool and provides suggestions on how health education professionals can use the tool more effectively. Through the use of the PubMed PICO tool, health education students and professionals can enhance their literature search strategies to help ensure a comprehensive and exhaustive literature review.

Keywords: career development/professional preparation; health research; program planning and evaluation; technology.