Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background questions are considerably broader and when answered, provide general knowledge. “What do I know about this?”  For example, “guided imagery”.

Background questions ask for general knowledge about an illness, disease, condition, process or thing. These types of questions typically ask who, what, where, when, how & why about things like a disorder, test, or treatment, etc.

Foreground questions are specific and relevant to the clinical issue.  Foreground questions must be asked in order to determine which of two interventions is the most effective in improving patient outcomes. Continuing on with guided imagery a foreground question would be: “In adult patients undergoing surgery, how does guided imagery compared with music therapy affect analgesia use within the first 24 hours post-op?” It is a specific, well-defined question that can only be answered by searching the current literature for studies comparing these two interventions.

 

You will be looking for overview/background information and you will need to answer a BACKGROUND QUESTION with general knowledge about a disorder or topic.  “What you know.”

Background information may be found in sources such as:

• reference book entries
• textbooks, chapters, appendices
• drug monographs, guides to diagnostic tests
• the library
• selected in the health sciences

• Asks for general information about a clinical issue
• Usually has two components:
  1. The starting place of the question (e.g., what, where, when, why, and how)
  2. The outcome of interest
• Broader in scope than a foreground (PICOT) question

Foreground questions (PICOT format)

• Asks for specific scientific evidence about diagnosing, treating, or educating patients
• The focus is on specific knowledge
• Use of PICOT format is recommended for a focused literature search

A Background search also called a Scoping Search:

Background Questions:  This is where you do an extensive exploration of the topic of choice—with a disease issue ie: heart disease or depression the following questions must be answered.  With a clinical issue the exploration must be exhaustive based on the topic.

Background questions, ask about general knowledge about a disorder or topic. A scoping search begins to locate general knowledge about a topic.

Expert opinions, pre-synthesized and pre-appraised guidelines, summaries.

To insure a complete understanding of the issue a clinical background question would include the following:

• Definition
• Epidemiology
• Clinical Presentation
• Complications
• Diagnosis
• Conclusion