CHE presents research in Portugal
Posted on Thursday 4 December 2025
CHE researchers played a prominent role at the 19th Portuguese Health Economics Conference (CNES), hosted by the Portuguese Association for Health Economics (APES) in Porto on 30–31 October 2025.
Since its foundation, APES has championed the dissemination and discussion of health economics in Portugal. CNES serves as a national forum for sharing health economics research across disciplines.
The 19th edition continued this mission with its most diverse programme yet. It featured more than 125 presentations, including organised and parallel sessions, short presentations, two plenary sessions, activities led by early-career researchers, and the presentation of the Pedro Pita Barros Award. More than two hundred participants attended from academia, industry, healthcare management, and government.
Keynote plenary: Mental healthcare economics
Professor Rowena Jacobs delivered the conference’s keynote plenary, Mental healthcare economics: Using data to inform policy. Her keynote, also captured in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper, discussed how health economics can quantify the costs of mental illness, identify funding and access challenges, guide service delivery, and support evidence-based policy. It also explored how these tools can inform mental health policy in the Portuguese context.
CHE research presentations
Maria Ana Matias presented The impact of current mental healthcare costs on subsequent physical and mental healthcare costs: Evidence from the English NHS. The study analyses how present-day mental health spending predicts future healthcare costs among adults and children, offering insights for long-term planning and resource allocation.
Xiaotong Li delivered findings from her paper, Does Patient Violence Translate to Reduced Care in Online Health Consultations? The research shows that patient violence toward physicians reduces online service provision, ultimately diminishing healthcare access and creating wider inefficiencies in the health system.
Rita Santos, President of the conference’s Scientific Committee, attended and supported the organisation of the event, which saw a record number of submissions this year. From these, the team developed a programme featuring 125 presentations, including 23 parallel sessions, eight short-presentation sessions, and four organised sessions. She also coordinated the panel for the best oral presentation, which was delivered during the closing session.