How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies
Abstract Background Globally, there is increasing evidence of resistance to government-led public health interventions in areas such as vaccination, climate change mitigation, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and the implementation of non-pharmaceutical infection control measures. One potential e...
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BMC
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23265-3 |
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| author | Kaitlin Conway-Moore Jack M. Birch Alison R. McKinlay Fiona Graham Emily Oliver Clare Bambra Michael P. Kelly Chris Bonell |
| author_facet | Kaitlin Conway-Moore Jack M. Birch Alison R. McKinlay Fiona Graham Emily Oliver Clare Bambra Michael P. Kelly Chris Bonell |
| author_sort | Kaitlin Conway-Moore |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Globally, there is increasing evidence of resistance to government-led public health interventions in areas such as vaccination, climate change mitigation, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and the implementation of non-pharmaceutical infection control measures. One potential explanation for this could be the documented global rise in populist attitudes, characterised by distrust of scientific, government and other perceived ‘elites.’ While the effect of such attitudes on engagement with COVID-19-related interventions has been extensively considered and researched, their association with the receipt of other public health interventions is currently underexplored. Methods To understand how populist-aligned views might influence the receipt of public health interventions addressing areas other than COVID-19, we systematically reviewed quantitative research published across thirteen bibliographic databases and relevant websites between 2008 and 2024. All studies were set in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Results Across 30 included studies, the vast majority of which were cross-sectional, we found evidence that populist-aligned attitudes have a negative impact on the receipt of public health interventions including vaccinations, sexual and reproductive health care and preventive health care. We also found preliminary evidence of the negative role of populist-aligned attitudes on the receipt of disease screening related to HIV/AIDS and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions during times of public health emergency, such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Conclusions Although providing limited evidence of causality, the findings from this review suggest the need for future policy in many OECD countries to focus on trust-building between the public and political, scientific, and medical establishments. They also indicate the need for mitigation strategies to overcome the potentially negative impact of populist-style hostility towards out-groups on attitudes related to pressing public health issues such as abortion and family planning, for example by drawing on empathy-centred approaches. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42024513124. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4b0fe3f892c434fbb2d2b5446477dca |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4b0fe3f892c434fbb2d2b5446477dca2025-08-20T03:26:43ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-06-0125113810.1186/s12889-025-23265-3How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studiesKaitlin Conway-Moore0Jack M. Birch1Alison R. McKinlay2Fiona Graham3Emily Oliver4Clare Bambra5Michael P. Kelly6Chris Bonell7NIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, NIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Centre for Behaviour Change, University College LondonNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityNIHR Policy Research Unit Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineAbstract Background Globally, there is increasing evidence of resistance to government-led public health interventions in areas such as vaccination, climate change mitigation, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and the implementation of non-pharmaceutical infection control measures. One potential explanation for this could be the documented global rise in populist attitudes, characterised by distrust of scientific, government and other perceived ‘elites.’ While the effect of such attitudes on engagement with COVID-19-related interventions has been extensively considered and researched, their association with the receipt of other public health interventions is currently underexplored. Methods To understand how populist-aligned views might influence the receipt of public health interventions addressing areas other than COVID-19, we systematically reviewed quantitative research published across thirteen bibliographic databases and relevant websites between 2008 and 2024. All studies were set in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Results Across 30 included studies, the vast majority of which were cross-sectional, we found evidence that populist-aligned attitudes have a negative impact on the receipt of public health interventions including vaccinations, sexual and reproductive health care and preventive health care. We also found preliminary evidence of the negative role of populist-aligned attitudes on the receipt of disease screening related to HIV/AIDS and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions during times of public health emergency, such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Conclusions Although providing limited evidence of causality, the findings from this review suggest the need for future policy in many OECD countries to focus on trust-building between the public and political, scientific, and medical establishments. They also indicate the need for mitigation strategies to overcome the potentially negative impact of populist-style hostility towards out-groups on attitudes related to pressing public health issues such as abortion and family planning, for example by drawing on empathy-centred approaches. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42024513124.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23265-3PopulismPopulist AttitudesPublic Health InterventionsSystematic ReviewQuantitative Evidence |
| spellingShingle | Kaitlin Conway-Moore Jack M. Birch Alison R. McKinlay Fiona Graham Emily Oliver Clare Bambra Michael P. Kelly Chris Bonell How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies BMC Public Health Populism Populist Attitudes Public Health Interventions Systematic Review Quantitative Evidence |
| title | How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| title_full | How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| title_fullStr | How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| title_short | How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| title_sort | how populist aligned views affect receipt of non covid 19 related public health interventions a systematic review of quantitative studies |
| topic | Populism Populist Attitudes Public Health Interventions Systematic Review Quantitative Evidence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23265-3 |
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