Evaluating PICO framework utilization in pharmacy resident research

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy research
• Evidence-based practice
• Study design

Background:

• Pharmacy resident research publication rates are notably low.
• The PICO (population, intervention, comparison, outcome) framework is crucial for developing robust research questions.
• Analysis of PICO framework utilization in pharmacy resident research abstracts is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the percentage of pharmacy resident research abstracts that fully incorporated all four PICO components.
• To assess the utilization of the PICO framework in research presented at the Great Lakes Pharmacy Residency Conference (GLPRC).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analysis of 1,822 abstracts presented at GLPRC from 2017-2019.
• Abstracts were analyzed for the presence of population, intervention, comparison, and outcome components.
• Subsequent publication in Embase and PubMed was tracked.

Main Results:

• 59.4% of abstracts included all four PICO components.
• The comparator component was least frequently included (63.9%).
• Only 6.7% of abstracts were published as manuscripts, with no significant difference in PICO characteristics between published and unpublished abstracts.

Conclusions:

• Around 60% of analyzed abstracts demonstrated complete PICO framework utilization, indicating a foundation for quality study design.
• PICO utilization did not significantly differ between postgraduate year 1 and year 2 residents.
• PICO framework adherence did not correlate with the likelihood of abstract publication.