You are working with a third grade class with a high rate of obesity and many students at risk for type 2 diabetes. You want to incorporate regular exercise into their daily schedule but you need to be able to justify starting an after-school physical activity program to the school administration.

P = population (elementary school children at risk for developing type 2 diabetes)

I = Intervention (incorporating regular exercise into the daily schedule of the children)

C=Comparison (could be diet changes or medication)

O=Outcome

This is a HOW question - you are looking for a solution to a problem.

For more information about PICO check out this tutorial: PICO:Research Questions for the Health Sciences!

Who, What, When, Where, Why (and How)

Researchers in most fields are looking for one of two things:

• A cause for a problem (Why) or
• a solution to a problem (How).

The Why or the How then becomes the I element of the PICO formula.

The P element of the PICO formula is typically the Who or the What