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Defining a clinical question in terms of the specific patient problem aids the searcher in finding clinically relevant evidence in the literature. The PICO Model is a format to help define your question.
P | Patient, Population, or Problem | How would I describe this problem or population? |
I | Intervention, Prognostic Factor, or Exposure | Which main intervention, prognostic factor, or exposure am I considering? |
C | Comparison or Intvervention (if appropriate) | What is the main alternative to compare with the intervention? |
O | Outcome you would like to measure or achieve | What can I hope to accomplish, measure, improve, or affect? |
The National Library of Medicine provides not only PubMed and MedlinePlus, but several other useful resources.
The CDC is also a great source for statistics. For more information on this, see the Finding Statistics page.
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international network known for providing the best possible evidence-based information.
Open access (OA) refers to freely available, digital, online information. Open access scholarly literature is free of charge and often carries less restrictive copyright and licensing barriers than traditionally published works, for both the users and the authors. The following links will allow you to search open access materials available from libraries, governmental resources, etc.
Finding full-text articles to support practice can be challenging if you are an unaffiliated health professional. Here are a few suggestions on how to obtain full-text materials:
The following public health associations and organizations have a variety of resources available online.