Medical-Legal Partnerships and Child Health and Family Wellbeing: A Scoping Review

Experiencing social, economic, and environmental disadvantages from childhood can negatively affect development and health across the life course. Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) have garnered attention as a transformative tool to address social determinants of health by integrating legal assistance into health care settings. We aimed to summarize and evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness of MLPs for improving child health and wellbeing.

Peer-reviewed quantitative studies published through August 22, 2023, including experimental or observational designs that examined the impact of MLP exposure on at least 1 child health or service use outcome, from Ovid Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL, and legal periodicals were selected.

Study characteristics were extracted into a customized form. Nine studies of 2680 met the inclusion criteria. The studies generally showed positive effects of MLP exposure on physical health, cognitive development, mental health, and health care use among children. Notable improvements were seen in reducing hospitalizations and addressing social and legal needs, such as housing insecurity and access to benefits. Some studies reported health benefits for caregivers, including reduced stress and improved mental health.

Variability in study methods, outcome measures, and sample sizes limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions. Potential biases, including publication bias, may have influenced results. Although our findings are promising, further research with standardized methodologies is needed to better understand the full potential of MLPs in enhancing child and family wellbeing.