Expanding the UTHealth Medical Legal Partnership to Improve Mental Health for Low-Income Individuals

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston1 site in 1 country160 target enrollmentFebruary 14, 2019

ConditionsHealth-harming Legal Needs

Overview

Phase: Not Applicable
Intervention: Not specified
Conditions: Health-harming Legal Needs
Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Enrollment: 160
Locations: 1
Primary Endpoint: Stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale
Status: Completed
Last Updated: 5 years ago

Overview Investigators Eligibility Criteria Outcomes Sites Similar Trials

Overview

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is to test whether participation of low-income patients with health-harming legal needs (HHLNs) in a medical legal partnership (MLP) results in improved mental health, improved quality of life, reduced utilization, and increased resolution of HHLNs.

Registry

clinicaltrials.gov

Start Date

February 14, 2019

End Date

September 11, 2020

Last Updated

5 years ago

Study Type

Interventional

Study Design

Parallel

Sex

All

Investigators

Sponsor

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Responsible Party

Principal Investigator

Winston Liaw

Associate professor

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

•low-income individuals (Low-income is defined as earning less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level)
•individuals with HHLNs
•English or Spanish speaking

Exclusion Criteria

•self-identified as being at significant and immediate risk due to HHLNs (e.g., a situation that involves imminent risk to the patient such as domestic violence)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale

Time Frame: 12 months

The perceived stress scale consists of 10 items, with each item ranging from 0-4, for a total score range of 0-40. A higher score indicates a worse outcome.

Secondary Outcomes

Anxiety as assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale(12 months)
Depression as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(12 months)
Quality of life as assessed by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)(12 months)
Number of Urgent Care Visits(12 months)
Number of Hospital Visits(12 months)
Number of Emergency Department Visits(12 months)
Percentage of baseline health-harming legal needs that were resolved(12 months)