PICO is a mnemonic for Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome. These parts make up a well built clinical question. A clinical question needs to be directly relevant to the patient or problem at hand, and phrased in such a way as to facilitate the search for an answer. PICO makes this process easier. It also helps formulate the search strategy by identifying the key concepts that need to be in the article that can answer the question.
Source: NYU Health Sciences Library
