The AHP Workforce PSP worked with the UK AHP workforce and with people and communities who use AHP services to identify the most important unanswered questions about the AHP workforce.
From April 2025 to June 2026, the AHP WRaP team partnered with the James Lind Alliance to prioritise the key research questions. You can explore the results below or download the Top‑10 priorities infographic.
Top 10 Research Priorities
| Rank | Question |
|---|---|
| 1 | What is the impact and effectiveness of the allied health professions workforce on health service delivery and how can this be measured (e.g. reduction of waiting lists, increased availability of community based care, economic benefit, cost-effectiveness, health outcomes)? |
| 2 | How can it be ensured that the allied health professions workforce is properly funded and resourced for a fully staffed, safe and effective workforce? What impact would this have on service delivery and patient outcomes? |
| 3 | How can organisations (e.g. private sector, NHS, and social care) and service delivery teams work more seamlessly together in partnership to develop the allied health professional workforce and deliver the best patient care and outcomes? |
| 4 | How are innovations in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital solutions affecting and/or assisting the allied health professions workforce and healthcare delivery? What training is needed to support the workforce to use it safely and effectively? |
| 5 | How can the future sustainability of the allied health professions workforce be addressed (e.g. succession, workforce and work planning, and staffing levels)? |
| 6 | How can more opportunities for leadership roles in the allied health professions be grown, and how can allied health professionals be encouraged into such roles? |
| 7 | How can preventative roles delivered by the allied health professions be developed and supported further? What is the impact of preventive roles? |
| 8 | What is the best way to balance capacity for health service provision whilst also allowing the allied health professions workforce access to professional training and career development? What impact would achieving this balance have (e.g. patient care, safety, service delivery, staff wellbeing, job satisfaction and retention)? |
| 9 | How can speciality, extended, enhanced, advanced and consultant roles be developed, funded and utilised more effectively to support the allied health professions workforce, and what impact does this have on patient outcomes? |
| 10 | What are the challenges faced by the smaller and underrepresented allied health professions? How can funding, roles and recognition for these groups be developed and spread more evenly and equitably (e.g. the arts based therapies or in specialist services)? |
What is a Priority Setting Partnership?
Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) identify and prioritise evidence uncertainties, or ‘unanswered questions’ in a particular area – in this case the Allied Health Professions (AHP) workforce. Unanswered questions will be gathered from people that work in AHP services, or have received care or treatment from them. Together, they will decide the top ten research priorities for the AHP workforce. This kind of prioritisation helps to provide support for funding future research, and helps researchers look at the most important questions.
Who are the James Lind Alliance?
The James Lind Alliance (JLA) is a non-profit making initiative, established in 2004. It brings patients, carers and clinicians together in PSPs for many different topic areas. PSPs are supported and guided by JLA Advisers, who are independent consultants and act as neutral facilitators to make sure that the process is followed in a fair and transparent way. They ensure equal input from the perspectives of patients, carers and clinicians. For more information on the JLA priority setting methodology watch this short video or find out more at https://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/.
Got questions?
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