Medical-Legal Partnerships: Assessment of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Patients and Social/Legal Needs

Abstract

A medical-legal partnership (MLP) is a model which brings together health and legal services in the form of a multidisciplinary team that works to address medical and legal issues. Currently, Legal Aid of Nebraska is partnering with Bluestem Health, a local federally qualified health center (FQHC) located in Lincoln, Nebraska, to identify legal issues and provide civil legal aid services through a screening and referral process. The purpose of this capstone project was to assess the characteristics and determine the types of social/legal needs of FQHC patients referred to Legal Aid of Nebraska. Data collected was utilized to assess whether mental health and/or substance abuse patients have greater social/legal needs than their counterparts without similar issues. Chi-Square analysis was utilized to examine associations, if any, between mental health/substance abuse issues and magnitude and types of legal needs. The long-term focus of the MLP project is to improve health outcomes for FQHC patients through identifying and addressing legal needs