Abstract

Background
Far-right populist parties have gained significant electoral success across the world, yet little attention has been paid to whether and how they shape health and contribute to health inequalities.
Methods
We conducted a scoping review to synthesize the available evidence on the link between far-right populism and health. We searched PubMed and Scopus between May and June 2026 to identify studies investigating this link.
Results
The review suggests that the health consequences of far-right populism can be understood across at least three levels: (1) the individual level, at which support for far-right populist ideologies may decrease individual health and foster adverse health behaviors; (2) the interpersonal level, at which exclusionary rhetoric may foster discrimination, stigma, and social exclusion and hostile social climates, with implications particularly for marginalized groups; and (3) the societal level, at which far-right populist governance may influence population health via welfare chauvinism and exclusionary policies that affect the social determinants of health.
Conclusion
Based on the emerging patterns identified in our review, we propose a preliminary three-level framework for understanding how far-right populism may be linked to health. This framework helps to integrate existing findings across the individual, interpersonal, and societal level. The evidence base is still developing, and more systematic, longitudinal, and comparative research is needed to better understand potential causal relationships.

• Keywords: Public health; inequality; politics; social determinants; populism; far-right; review