Efficacy of Medical Legal Partnerships to Address Health Harming Legal Needs: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies in the Field

Objectives Medical legal partnerships (MLPs) function by leveraging partnerships between legal and medical entities to holistically target the health harming legal needs (HHLNs) of vulnerable patients. Yet, despite their documented success, robust experimental-based research is still lacking on their efficacy. This review synthesizes the findings of MLP interventions and identifies gaps and opportunities for MLP expansion across vulnerable communities. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted across Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, Westlaw and LexisNexis databases between January 12th 2021 and April 25th, 2021. Articles were eligible if they used an experimental design, tested the effects of an MLP intervention on HHLNs, and had full text for review, with no restrictions on publication year, place, or population (adult or child). Two reviewers independently screened articles for inclusion in Rayyan QCRI- a systematic review tool and also independently assessed the quality (risk of bias) of each study. Results Our search yielded 1267 articles; six studies were ultimately eligible. Populations were largely racially-ethnic minorities, women, of lower socioeconomic status and with HHLNs including food and housing insecurity, unemployment, immigration, and education concerns. All studies’ MLPs demonstrated positive effects on primary endpoints including perceived stress, diabetes, immunization rates, and additional child health outcomes. Two experimental studies had low bias, while the four remaining studies (quasi-experimental) had moderate risk of bias. Conclusion Studies highlighted the promising ability of MLPs to address HHLNs. However, additional rigorous research in MLPs is needed to establish an evidence-based approach to addressing social needs and health outcomes.