Health Policies and Healthcare Services Research

This research line is based on the idea that health and treatments cannot be conceived without understanding the context in which they occur. This research line will be devoted to understanding how these contextual factors influence populations’ health and the appropriate delivery of clinical interventions, focused by two other research lines.

The link between context and health is currently focused on a better understanding on how health and healthy lifestyles are shaped by macro socioeconomic policies, which we intend to evaluate.
This thematic line aims at pursuing and developing the study of the most efficient investments in the health system, in order to improve quality while preserving sustainability.

In regard to treatments, it will contribute to longstanding efforts in Portugal to evaluate new drugs and medical devices, following the requirements of regulatory agencies. In regard to public health interventions, it will develop this new research avenue, traditionally neglected by health economists, of evaluating population-based interventions.