Pilot study of medical-legal partnership to address social and legal needs of patients.
As a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of medical-legal partnership in pediatrics, we conducted a 36-month prospective cohort study of the impact of clinic- and hospital-based legal services. We hypothesized that integration of legal services into pediatric settings would increase families' awareness of and access to legal and social services, decrease barriers to health care for children, and improve child health.


METHODS
Health care providers referred families with legal or social needs to the Peninsula Family Advocacy Program (FAP).


RESULTS
Fifty four families completed both baseline and six-month follow-up assessments. Comparison of follow-up with baseline demonstrated significantly increased proportions of families who utilized food and income supports and significantly decreased proportions of families avoiding health care due to lack of health insurance or concerns about cost. Two-thirds of respondents reported improved child health and well-being.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that adding an attorney to the medical team increases awareness of and access to social and legal services.
Weintraub
Dana
D
Division of General Pediatrics at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford in Palo Alto, California, USA. Dana.Weintraub@Stanford.edu
Rodgers
Melissa A
MA
Botcheva
Luba
L
Loeb
Anna
A
Knight
Rachael
R
Ortega
Karina
K
Heymach
Brooke
B
Sandel
Megan
M
Huffman
Lynne
L
D002140:California; D002648:Child; D002651:Child Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D033241:Lawyers; D010372:Pediatrics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012944:Social Support