Presenting Your PICO(T) Process Findings to Your Professional Peers

Hello, my name is…, and I would like to share my PICO(T) process findings with you today on improving care coordination for children with sickle cell disease. In professional nursing practice, a significant responsibility today is sharing evidence-based findings as a means to improve patient outcomes and provide coordinated, evidence-based care for those impacted by sickle cell disease (SCD) – a condition that has a major impact on the health and well-being of children. Collaborative decision-making to provide the best care for patients is possible when nurses share research. PICOT research also contributes to building the evidence base needed to support nursing practice by assisting nurses in delivering high-quality care to vulnerable populations.

Explanation of Diagnosis: Acute Heart Failure

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder in which the red blood cells take on an irregular, sickle shape, leading to blockage of blood vessels. This blockage also contributes to the pain crises, resulting in organ damage and significantly reduced quality of life. As Tebbi. As has been pointed out by (2022), complications of SCD include stroke, infection, and major delays in growth and development in children. So, the risks of SCD are high and long-term, and will necessitate proactive, consistent, and comprehensive management approaches to reduce risks.

Children with SCD may have frequent pain crises, which lead to high levels of hospitalizations and school absence, affecting the emotional, family, and health outcomes of each child. According to Jain et al. (2026), inadequate pain management along with the lack of adequate care delivery from diverse populations of individuals living with SCD will significantly lead to worsening health outcomes and overall emotional well-being. It is crucial, therefore, for nurses to be aware of these potential risks and complications so that they can care for the patient in an effective, patient-centered way.

PICO(T) Research Question

Research Question: Does an improvement in care coordination (I) over standard care (C) reduce the number and severity of pain crises and improve health outcomes (O) in children with sickle cell disease (P) after 6 months (T)?

PICO(T) Components

• P (Population): Children with sickle cell disease
• I (Intervention): Improved care coordination
• C (Comparison): Standard care
• (Outcome): Frequency and severity of pain crises and health outcomes
• T (Time): Over 6 months

Explanation of PICO(T) Criteria Application

An evidence-based practice begins with the use of clinical questions that are based on evidence to produce reliable research and enhance patient outcomes. PICO(T) provides nurses with a systematic method of recognizing the various patient populations, interventions used with the patient populations, and accepted measures that result from the intervention. Albertson et al. (2021) agree on this idea that “structured questions to coordinate care will result in better intervention with patient groups that are consuming excessive healthcare resources. This question addresses the main barriers that people with SCD have to accessing timely and coordinated health care services.

Evidence Summary

Several reliable sources have been considered by various sources to provide an answer to the PICO(T) question on Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) patient care. Each source offers a different insight or evidence into improving care coordination and/or delivering better outcomes. Schlenz et al. (2025) conducted a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded, peer-reviewed, qualitative research study that discusses barriers and facilitators to comprehensive pediatric SCD care; this is a very reliable and relevant source to identify challenges experienced by children with SCD when accessing care. Schieve et al. (2022) conducted quantitative research, which has shown that adherence to preventive care recommendations influenced the reduction in complications among children with SCD. Freitas et al. (2025) performed a rapid review that confirms nurses play an important role in coordinating patient care, educating patients, and advocating for patients. Moreover, Ge et al. (2023) offer additional findings that community nurses play an important role in the continuity of care and effective coordination of chronic disease management for patients. These sources offer a good amount of evidence, credibility, and relevance when defining evidence-based nursing practice for children with SCD.

Analysis of Evidence and Answer to PICO(T) Question

A wide range of research indicates that better care coordination for children with sickle cell disease (SCD) has a positive impact on their outcomes. Better coordination of care will improve the quality of health care, enhance family involvement in their children’s care, and decrease the incidence of pain crises. The study by Khatri et al. (2023) demonstrates that continuity and coordination of primary health care (PHC) have a significant positive impact on outcomes of patients with chronic diseases across populations. Therefore, coordinated care is one of the most evidence-supported interventions to optimize the care of children with SCD.

Moreover, care coordination lowers system barriers, like transportation, lack of provider knowledge, and missed appointments, which result in missed timely treatment and unexpected complications and hospitalizations. Schlenz et al. (2025) highlighted the importance of establishing good provider relationships and providing support services as factors that enhance the outcomes of SCD patients. In summary, these studies show that coordinated and supportive care significantly enhances the health and well-being of SCD children.

Assumptions Underlying the Analysis

Assuming that perceived barriers to care among various pediatric populations with sickle cell disease (SCD) will be similar regardless of clinical setting/location, it should be noted that the current analysis assumes that care coordination interventions can be feasibly implemented within existing healthcare systems/resources, and additionally, based on the evidence cited by Connor. (2023), evidence-based practice (EBP) models show consistent evidence of improving patient outcomes and providing a return on investment for health care. While these assumptions are reasonable, it is important to keep them in mind when applying any of the study’s findings to other clinical/community settings.

Key Steps of Care Based on Evidence

Evidence exists that some key nursing care measures can make a significant difference to the outcomes of children with sickle cell disease (SCD). One of these is the requirement for registered nurses to plan and facilitate structured care coordination programs, which always enable communication between providers, between the child and family, and between providers, child, and family. This is corroborated by Freitas et al. (2025), who reported positive effects of nursing care coordination, education, and complication screening on children with SCD pain outcomes. These measures have been included because they are directly connected to the main barriers/facilitators found in the literature reviewed.

Conclusion

In this presentation, the PICO(T) framework is described as it relates to coordinating care for the pediatric patient with sickle cell disease. Strong evidence has shown that when coordination of care is improved, a reduction in pain crises will occur and quality of life will be improved for children with SCD. The key providers – nurses – put strategies in place based on the research; if they use the steps outlined in this evidence base, the quality of care provided to children living with sickle cell disease will be greatly enhanced.