Using the PICO model helps to define the guiding question for intervention planning in terms of the specific client problem and break it down into four key components. PICO is rooted in evidence-based practice and is often used in nursing education and practice to guide step one of the EBP process (Milner & Cosme, 2017).  At times, the model is referred to as PICOT, which adds the extra element of Time-frame to the model (Drisko, 2013). Social workers can use this approach to better frame research questions to guide intervention planning and evaluation in integrated practice.  In particular, PICO may be a particularly useful when working with intervention planning with communities .  Through precise identification of the four components: Population, intervention, comparison, and outcome, social workers identify well-defined questions to guide intervention planning with the most relevant evidence in the literature.

Example

Consider LGBTQ+ teens, research reports that LGBTQ teens are more at risk for depression when compared to non-LGBTQ+ teens (Russell, Ryan, Toomey, Diaz & Sanchez, 2011).  Research also suggests that having a peer support system affects levels of depression amongst all teens in that age bracket (Pfeiffer, Heisler, Piette, Rogers & Valenstein, 2011).  As a social worker in the high school, you want to offer an LGBTQ+ support group for several students you have been treating for depression. The PICO components of this identified social problem are:

P = Patient or Population: LGBTQ+ teens

I = Intervention: support meetings & individual counseling

C = Comparison:  Treatment as Usual (individual counseling)

O = Outcome Lower levels of reported depression as measured by Children’s Depression Rating Scale–Revised (CDRS-R)

In the PICO process, we have identified the population as LGBTQ+ teenagers.  After a careful review of the literature and/or a needs assessment, the intervention you decide to implement is a peer support group.  If you wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of this program, you will want to compare LGBTQ+ teens that attend a peer support group and those who do not, and the outcome will guide the evaluation plan, measured by the Children’s Depression Rating Scale–Revised (CDRS-R) (Mayes et al, 2010).