9.2.2 Developing the title and question

Although the Umbrella Review may aim to examine existing research syntheses for different types of interventions or phenomena of interest with the same condition, or different outcomes for the same intervention or phenomena of interest, the PICO and PICo mnemonic should be used to generate a clear and meaningful title and question. Ideally, the title for a quantitative Umbrella Review may incorporate some of the PICO elements, including the Population, the Intervention, the Comparison and Outcome, and the PICo elements if considering a question or topic that lends itself to qualitative data, including the Population, the Phenomena of Interest and Context. If a JBI Umbrella Review intends to review both quantitative and qualitative systematic reviews, both the intervention and phenomena of interest need to be clearly specified in the protocol (see below). The title of the Umbrella Review protocol must be concise enough to reflect the interventions or the phenomena of interest as a whole; however, it should also be as descriptive as possible. If the Umbrella Review is examining an intervention used across different patient conditions or different interventions with the same patient condition, this should be further delineated in the inclusion criteria section. The PICO or PICo mnemonic can provide potential readers with a significant amount of information about the focus, scope and applicability of the Umbrella Review to their needs. The following are examples of Umbrella Review titles:

1.  “Non-pharmacological management for aggressive behaviors in dementia: an Umbrella Review protocol”

2. “The experiences of caregivers who are living with and caring for persons with dementia: an Umbrella Review protocol”

As an illustration of the use of the PICO elements to aid in articulating the title of an Umbrella Review, note that in example 1, the population (dementia), the intervention (non-pharmacological management), and the outcome (aggressive behaviors) are clearly evident. In this example this appears as the title of an Umbrella Review that lends itself to the inclusion of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials to inform the effectiveness of an intervention or therapy, or potentially a broader investigation of research syntheses, that not only explore effectiveness of interventions but also the experiences of patients that received these therapies and their acceptability. Such an approach to this Umbrella Review will provide a comprehensive picture of the available evidence on the topic.

Similarly, example 2, provides readers with a clear indication of the population (caregivers of persons dementia), the phenomena of interest (experiences of caregiving), and the context (living with and caring for) as well as the fact that it is Umbrella Review protocol of qualitative evidence.