Medical-legal partnership impact on parents' perceived stress: A pilot study

Stress has adverse effects on health, and prolonged stress exposure is a risk factor for several mental and physical illnesses. (1) Families living in poverty face many stressors created and maintained by economic hardship and unaddressed legal and social needs. Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) aim to improve health and well-being by addressing health-harming legal and social needs of patients. This pilot study examined whether MLP-involved parents perceived themselves as stressed; to what they attributed their stress; and whether they reported a reduction in stress when their MLP cases were closed. The study shows improvements in perceived stress following receipt of MLP interventions.