The Future of Health Research: Challenges and Opportunities for Deans

This blog highlights the key challenges facing health and nursing research, including workforce pressures, limited funding, and the impact of increasing teaching demands. Covidence, a systematic review management platform as well as a sponsor of the Council’s 2026 Spring Conference, shares its perspective on how better collaboration and streamlined processes can support sustainable research.

As Regional Director for EMEA at Covidence, I have the privilege of working closely with faculties across health and nursing education. In my conversations with Deans, a consistent theme emerges: growing research output is important, however sustaining it in an increasingly complex and constrained environment is a greater challenge.

One of the most crucial concerns is the gradual erosion of the clinical academic workforce. A significant proportion of experienced researchers are approaching retirement. At the same time, early career researchers face short-term contracts and uncertain funding landscapes, making academia a less attractive long-term prospect. This creates a widening gap – a difficult balancing act for Deans striving to maintain research excellence while supporting the next generation.

Overlaying this is the growing tension between teaching and research. Financial pressures across higher education are shifting focus toward high-volume teaching delivery, often at the expense of protected research time. While this may address short-term budget constraints, it risks weakening institutional performance in future research assessments and, ultimately, the sector’s global standing.

The transition into an AI-enabled era adds another layer of complexity. The Council of Deans of Health’s 2026 principles rightly emphasise that AI adoption must be ethical, transparent, and underpinned by continuous upskilling, yet many institutions are navigating how to operationalise these principles during a period of significant transition. There remains a clear gap between the pace of technological change and the infrastructure, governance, and training needed to support it effectively. For research leaders, this transition raises important questions about maintaining rigour, reproducibility, and trust in an evolving AI landscape.

Alongside this, student-related pressures cannot be ignored. Course closures, placement shortages, and cost-of-living challenges are contributing to a “leaky pipeline,” with direct implications for research capacity. When fewer students progress into academic careers, the long-term sustainability of the research ecosystem is at risk.

The principles set out by the Council of the Deans of Health – particularly around collaboration, innovation, and transparency – offer a strong foundation for rethinking how research is conducted and supported, and we must focus on the opportunities here for growth. Streamlining evidence synthesis, improving collaboration across teams, and enabling more efficient review processes are all areas where targeted investment can make a meaningful difference.

At Covidence, we are committed to supporting health faculties in strengthening their research workflows, and maintaining quality and rigor in evidence-based practice. 480+ institutions worldwide use Covidence as a go-to-platform for research, as well as a partner for supporting, teaching and training research groups through our Community Support Team, minimising the burden on staff and fostering high-quality research.

As part of June Research Month, Council members can access a discounted departmental Covidence licence until 30th June 2026. You can learn more at www.covidence.org or express interest through our contact us form.