The Influence of a Medical-Legal Partnership on Self-Reported Health Outcomes in Upstate New York.

Abstract

Introduction: Medical-legal partnerships (MLP) improve the ability of healthcare professionals to address patients' socioeconomic concerns. The Finger Lakes Legal Care Project (FLLC) is an MLP of LawNY, a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal assistance in western New York. This study aimed to assess for changes in self-reported health outcomes following receipt of legal aid.

Materials and methods: Patients who received legal assistance through the FLLC Project were administered the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12) at the outset and conclusion of legal intervention. Demographic information was collected. Survey responses were analyzed using paired t-tests.

Results: Four hundred and eight participants with an average age of 49 years completed the pre-legal intervention survey and 123 individuals completed the survey post legal intervention. The majority of participants were White, non-Hispanic (36%) or African American (31.3%). There were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of two of the SF-12 questions. Participants reported that their health was less likely to limit their ability to perform regular activities (p = .037) and they felt "calm and peaceful" more frequently (p = .032) following legal aid.

Conclusions: Standardized surveys in conjunction with qualitative measures are needed to assess the efficacy of MLP models and establish a framework for emerging MLPs.