Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
CONSORT flow diagram. Abbreviation: MLP, medical-legal partnership.
Tables
- Table 1.
Participant Characteristics of a Randomized Controlled Trial Testing a Medical-Legal Partnership Referral, by Total Sample, Randomized Condition, and Whether Participants Received Legal Services
Overall Waitlist Control Immediate Referral (n = 159) (n = 80) (n = 79) Variable Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) P value Age 52.3 (16.0) 50.5 (15.8) 54.7 (16.0) 0.821 n (%) n (%) n (%) P value Sex 0.140 Female 108 (68%) 50 (62%) 58 (73%) Male 51 (32%) 30 (38%) 21 (27%) Race 0.849 African American 85 (54%) 40 (51%) 45 (57%) Hispanic* 44 (28%) 24 (31%) 20 (25%) Other 11 (7%) 5 (6%) 6 (7%) White 17 (11%) 9 (12%) 8 (10%) Ethnicity 0.463 Hispanic 21 (13%) 9 (11%) 12 (15%) Not Hispanic 136 (87%) 70 (89%) 66 (85%) Language 0.650 English 153 (97%) 76 (96%) 77 (97%) Spanish 5 (3%) 3 (3%) 2 (2%) Variable Overall No receipt Received services (n = 141) (n = 115) (n = 26) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) P value Age 52.8 (16.2) 53.1 (16.8) 51.7 (13.3) 0.701 N (%) N (%) N (%) P value Sex 0.614 Female 98 (70%) 81 (70%) 17 (65%) Male 43 (30%) 34 (30%) 9 (35%) Race 0.171 African American 76 (55%) 58 (51%) 18 (72%) Hispanic* 39 (28%) 35 (31%) 4 (16%) Other 8 (5%) 8 (7%) 0 (0%) White 16 (12%) 13 (11%) 3 (12%) Ethnicity 0.020 Hispanic 20 (14%) 20 (18%) 0 (0%) Not Hispanic 119 (86%) 93 (82%) 26 (100%) Language 0.333 English 136 (97%) 110 (96%) 26 (100%) Spanish 4 (3%) 4 (4%) 0 (0%) ↵*Please note that the race categories were provided by the clinical partner.
Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.
- Table 2.
Responses to the Health-Harming Legal Needs Screening Instrument by Total Sample and Randomized Condition
Total Waitlist Control Immediate Referral N (%) N (%) N (%) P value Does anyone in your household have concerns about? Income issues (including disability, supplemental security income, Social Security, debt, medical bills, paying for medications, and Women, Infants, and Children benefits) 90 (56.6%) 46 (57.5%) 44 (55.7%) 0.819 Health insurance coverage or benefits 57 (35.8%) 27 (33.8%) 30 (38.0%) 0.579 Losing a job or being at risk for losing a job over the past 90 days 18 (11.3%) 9 (11.3%) 9 (11.4%) 0.977 Losing transportation or being at risk for losing transportation over the past 90 days 29 (18.2%) 20 (25.0%) 9 (11.4%) 0.026 Education needs that are not being met 13 (8.2%) 9 (11.3%) 4 (5.1%) 0.155 Immigration status 13 (8.2%) 10 (12.5%) 3 (3.8%) 0.045 Personal safety 22 (13.8%) 11 (13.8%) 11 (13.9%) 0.975 Personal injuries (including accidents) 20 (12.6%) 9 (11.3%) 11 (13.9%) 0.611 Custody, guardianship, or child support 38 (23.9%) 17 (21.3%) 21 (26.6%) 0.431 Wills, advance directives, power of attorney, or any other form of end-of-life planning 81 (50.9%) 41 (51.3%) 40 (50.6%) 0.938 What is your housing situation today? I do not have housing (I am staying with others, in a hotel, in a shelter, living outside on the street, on a beach, in a car, abandoned building, bus or train station, or in a park) 30 (18.9%) 16 (20.0%) 14 (17.7%) 0.714 I have housing today, but I am worried about losing housing in the future 45 (28.3%) 23 (28.8%) 22 (27.8%) 0.9 Utilities In the past 12 months, the electric, gas, or water company made threats to shut off services in your home 45 (28.3%) 21 (26.3%) 24 (30.4%) 0.563 In the past 12 months, the electric, gas, or water company made threats to shut off services in your home and the utilities are already shut off 1 (0.6%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (1.3%) 0.313 Think about the place you live. Do you have problems with any of the following? (Check all that apply) Bugs 37 (23.3%) 23 (28.8%) 14 (17.7%) 0.1 Mold 37 (23.3%) 23 (28.8%) 14 (17.7%) 0.1 Lead (or chipped) paint or pipes 16 (10.1%) 6 (7.5%) 10 (12.7%) 0.28 Water leaks or plumbing problems 45 (28.3%) 26 (32.5%) 19 (24.1%) 0.237 Neighborhood conditions that affect health 13 (8.2%) 9 (11.3%) 4 (5.1%) 0.155 Oven or stove not working 12 (7.5%) 7 (8.8%) 5 (6.3%) 0.563 No or not working smoke detectors 29 (18.2%) 17 (21.3%) 12 (15.2) 0.322 Inadequate heat or air conditioning 24 (15.1%) 12 (15.0%) 12 (15.2%) 0.973 Food Within the past 12 months, you worried that your food would run out before you got money to buy more (Often true) 28 (17.6%) 15 (18.8%) 13 (16.5%) 0.714 Within the past 12 months, you worried that your food would run out before you got money to buy more (Sometimes true) 45 (28.3%) 23 (28.8%) 22 (27.8%) 0.9 Within the past 12 months, the food you bought just didn't last and you didn't have money to get more (Often true) 26 (16.4%) 16 (20.0%) 10 (12.7%) 0.211 Within the past 12 months, the food you bought just didn't last and you didn't have money to get more (Sometimes true) 67 (42.1%) 35 (43.8%) 32 (40.5%) 0.679 Over the past year, have you had…? 3 or more emergency room visits 45 (28.3%) 21 (26.3%) 24 (30.4%) 0.563 2 or more hospital stays 21 (13.2%) 6 (7.5%) 15 (19.0%) 0.032 Additional concerns Would like to speak with a lawyer about other legal issues 102 (64.2%) 50 (62.5%) 52 (65.8%) 0.662 Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) P value Number of issues 6.7 (3.5) 7.0 (3.5) 6.4 (3.5) 0.310 Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.
Legal Benefit Provided* # Participants Benefitted (%) Wills & Guardianship 10 (27.8%) Housing 9 (25.0%) Social Security 6 (16.7%) Employment & Education 4 (11.1%) Insurance 3 (8.3%) Food 2 (5.6%) Income 1 (2.8%) Other 1 (2.8%) ↵*Includes 4 individuals who were not randomized due to health-harming legal needs that represented an immediate and significant risk. All four had legal issues related to evictions. Furthermore, 6 individuals received more than 1 legal benefit.
