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The 4 Key Components of a Well-Framed Question

A well-framed question about the efficacy of a treatment requires 4 key components(1):

1. Patient Population: This defines the group being represented in a study. When you consider any information you want to make sure the group is similar to you. For example, does it include mostly men or women? Adults? Individuals with a mild or severe form of a particular disease, etc?
   
   
2. Intervention: This is the treatment you are interested in. As you consider a particular treatment, make sure it is available where you live and is on your health plan.
   
   
3. Comparison Intervention: This is what you are comparing your intervention of interest against. Ideally, if you are considering any new intervention, you don’t only want to know whether it works, but whether it works better than the current best available therapy. When considering studies that compare new therapies against placebo, or “doing nothing,” you and your healthcare provider will need to discuss whether “doing nothing” is a current acceptable standard of care. If it is not, then comparing your intervention against placebo would not be an appropriate comparison intervention.
   
   
4. Outcomes: This is the benefit, or what the therapy affects. Make sure that the beneficial outcomes are things you care about and are meaningful to your life. For example, do the outcomes directly improve how long you will live or how good you will feel, or are they merely intermediary outcomes (“surrogate markers”), like changes in laboratory test results, which may not always impact your quality of life?

Ultimately, the litmus test of any well-framed question is, “If the result of my question is true, would it affect what I want to do?” Applying the four components of the well-framed question above:

1. if the patient population in the research represents you;
2. the intervention you are considering is available to you;
3. if the question compares the contemplated therapy against the current best therapy; and
4. the outcomes evaluated would be a meaningful improvement in your life, then you are likely to be asking the right question.

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SuperSmartHealth does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please see our Terms of Use for more information. Page Updated: Oct 20, 2008