University Assignment: PICO Question on Fall Risk and Osteoporosis

This report presents a PICO question analysis focusing on fall risk and the potential of physiotherapy as an intervention, using a case study of a 65-year-old woman with a history of falls and osteoporosis. The report formulates a PICO question, exploring whether physiotherapy is more effective than medication in preventing falls and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. It details the search strategy, including key terms and databases used to find relevant articles. The report includes a table outlining the PICO elements (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) and lists retrieved articles from databases such as Ovid, Google Scholar, and Cinahl. The appendix provides an ICF framework for the client, considering health conditions, personal and environmental factors, participation, activities, and body functions and structures. The report aims to provide evidence-based insights into fall prevention strategies for elderly individuals with osteoporosis, highlighting the role of physiotherapy.

Running head: PICO QUESTION
PICO question Formation
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

1PICO QUESTION
Table of Contents
Part 1: case study.............................................................................................................................2
Part 2: Formulating a question.........................................................................................................3
Part 3: Search strategy and results...................................................................................................3

2PICO QUESTION
Part 1: case study
Jessica Anderson, aged 65 years lives independently in a single roomed apartment with a
garden. She has suffered from transient ischemic attack. She had suffered from atrial fibrillation
in past years. She has fall risk that is linked with the osteoporosis disease. Her health stability is
very weak and in the previous years, she had faced the risks of fall every time. Greta has the
acute pain and due to the muscle loss, the pain level has increased. She has to perform lots of
activities as she lives alone. She has a great risk of osteoporosis due to falls and fractures. Hence,
she needs to perform the therapy session. She is using walker and after the medication her pain
level has decreased. She needs to be careful as she can feel the pain again in the affected limbs.
With the walker, she is able to perform her daily work. The arterial supply is insufficient
that can affect the limbs. This can happen when the temperature goes down 35 degree. She has
the problem of constipation due to the eating pattern. She must be careful about her eating habit
and should include the foods that are enriched in fibre. She needs to increase her physical
activity so that the bowel movement can occur appropriately. However, the general practitioner
helped her by providing the medication and suggested for the physiotherapy. The general
practitioner provided the medication to reduce her problems. Hence, she needs to follow the
instruction of the general practitioner. In the past years, the cognitive changes are seen in Jessica.
She shows more interest in the spiritual development. She is improving herself day by day with
the guidance of the general practitioner. The general practitioner is trying to reduce the risks of
fall for the well being of the patient (vide Appendix).

3PICO QUESTION
Part 2: Formulating a question
Clinical/
Professional
Question
Can fall risk (P) be preventable (I) by physiotherapy rather than
medication (C) to reduce the chance of the osteoporosis (O)?
P fall risk
I preventable
C physiotherapy rather than medication
O reduce the chance of the osteoporosis
Table 1: PICO question
Part 3: Search strategy and results
The PICO answer is preventive type of clinical question.
Population Intervention Comparison (not
commonly used in
actual database search
strategy)
Outcome (not
commonly used in
actual database search
strategy)
fall risk
risk of fall
pain
Preventable
Avoidable
physiotherapy rather
than medication
reduce the chance of
the osteoporosis
reduce the risks

4PICO QUESTION
risk
fall
risks of osteoporosis
cure of osteoporosis
For the study quantitative study is selected, which can provide the best answer of the
questions. The PICO question helped to find out the result from different databases so that case
study can be solved.
Systematic search strategy worksheet
Key terms:
1 fall risk
2 risk of fall
3 Preventable
4 Avoidable
5 physiotherapy rather than medication
6 reduce the chance of the osteoporosis
7 reduce the risks
8 risks of osteoporosis
9 cure of osteoporosis
10 reduces risk factors
11 Osteoporotic Fracture
12 cognitive changes in the elderly

5PICO QUESTION
Figure 1: Search in Cinahl
Databases Articles
Ovid Kim, H. Y., Ha, Y. C., Kim, T. Y., Cho, H., Lee, Y.
K., Baek, J. Y., & Jang, S. (2017). Healthcare Costs
of Osteoporotic Fracture in Korea: Information
from the National Health Insurance Claims
Database, 2008-2011. Journal of Bone
Metabolism, 24(2), 125-133.
Ovid Schröder, G., Knauerhase, A., Willenberg, H. S.,
Kundt, G., Wendig, D., & Schober, H. C. (2017).
Biomechanics of the osteoporotic spine, pain, and
principles of training. Archives of orthopaedic and

6PICO QUESTION
trauma surgery, 137(5), 617-624.
Google scholar Stein, J., Luppa, M., Maier, W., Wagner, M.,
Wolfsgruber, S., Scherer, M., ... & Bickel, H.
(2012). Assessing cognitive changes in the elderly:
Reliable change indices for the Mini‐Mental State
Examination. Acta Psychiatrica
Scandinavica, 126(3), 208-218.
Google Scholar Stein, M. J., Kang, C., & Ball, V. (2015).
Emergency Department Evaluation and Treatment
of Acute Hip and Thigh Pain. Emergency medicine
clinics of North America, 33(2), 327-343.
Cinahl Sherrington, C., Tiedemann, A., Fairhall, N., Close,
J. C., & Lord, S. R. (2011). Exercise to prevent
falls in older adults: an updated meta-analysis and
best practice recommendations. New South Wales
public health bulletin, 22(4), 78-83.
Cinahl Carter, N. D., Khan, K. M., McKay, H. A., Petit,
M. A., Waterman, C., Heinonen, A., ... & Kruse, K.
(2002). Community-based exercise program
reduces risk factors for falls in 65-to 75-year-old
women with osteoporosis: randomized controlled
trial. Canadian Medical Association
Journal, 167(9), 997-1004.
Table 2: Lists of retrieved articles

Running head: PICO QUESTION
Appendix
ICF framework for the client in the Case Study (see below)