The UTHealth Medical-Legal Partnership: Improving Health by Addressing Health-Harming Legal Needs

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Determinants of Health

Treatments: Other: Access to social worker and a community worker; Other: Access to the Medical-Legal Partnership Group

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03364543

2017-048

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of the UTHealth medical-legal partnerships (MLP) against usual care.

Enrollment: 911 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• English- or Spanish- speaking
• screen positive for health-harming legal needs (HHLNs)

Exclusion criteria

• Those unable or unwilling to consent to legal services

Trial design

911 participants in 2 patient groups

Medical-Legal Partnership Group

Description:

The Medical-Legal Partnership Group are lawyers in clinics who address health-harming legal needs. This group will also have access to access to a social worker and a community worker.

Treatment:

Other: Access to social worker and a community worker

Other: Access to the Medical-Legal Partnership Group

Usual Care

Description:

Access to a social worker and a community worker, but no systematic process for addressing health-harming legal needs.

Treatment:

Other: Access to social worker and a community worker