Writing a Research Question Exercise
Instructions: Review the resources on writing research questions in the PICO format, and answer the
following questions.
Identify the PICO elements in the following research questions:
1. Do healthy primigravid women who receive free gym memberships during pregnancy gain less
weight during the pregnancy than women who receive regular prenatal care?
P:
I:
C:
O:
2. Do overweight women with pre-pregnancy hypertension experience a different risk of stillbirth
than women who are normotensive before pregnancy?
P:
I:
C:
O:
Write a research question incorporating the following PICO elements:
3. P: preterm infants experiencing narcotics withdrawal
I: baby-wearing
C: normal care
O: jitteriness and hyperreflexia
Research Question:
4. P: sexually-active teenagers who smoke
I: new oral contraceptive pill Z
C: old contraceptive pill X
O: deep vein thrombosis
Research Question:
5. P: Post-menopausal African-American women experiencing hot flashes
I: bio-identical hormones
C: Prempro
O: hot flash intensity measured via the Thurston hot flash scale
Research Question:
6. Think of a problem that impacts womens health that interest you. This can be a medical
condition, an issue with acceptance or adherence to care, a public health issue or something
else.
What is the womans health problem youve come up with?
7. Think of two interventions to address this womens health problem. T
he first intervention
should involve direct patient care and should be an intervention that can be implemented with
an individual women.
The second intervention should address the issue on a broader level, such
as starting a program or increasing community access to a particular resource.
List your two
interventions here.
8. Write PICO elements for a research question about intervention 1 and then write the research
question.
9. Write PICO elements for a research question about intervention 2 and then write the research
question.
