Loveday Sarah, Forell Suzie, Bosward Rebecca, Chen Lingling, Constable Leanne N, Ebbett Wilhelmina, Kabir Ashraful, Liu Hueiming, Preddy Alexandra, White Natalie, Hiscock Harriet
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Health Services, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Int J Integr Care. 2025 Mar 25;25(1):13. doi: 10.5334/ijic.8917. eCollection 2025 Jan-Mar.
Health justice partnerships (HJP) embed legal support into health care teams to address patient unmet legal needs. Families experiencing adversity are likely to have multiple legal needs yet are unlikely to seek legal assistance. Implementing a HJP within an integrated health and social care hub may improve outcomes for families by addressing adversity related to unmet legal need.
A mixed-method evaluation of new HJPs was conducted across two sites in Australia. Process data were collected regarding the use of the legal services. Qualitative data explored the experience of legal support.
Forty caregivers were referred across two sites with 38 seen over the first 12 months. Caregivers had an average 2.5 legal issues each; 65% of referrals were for family violence and family law matters, 31% were for civil law matters and 4% were for criminal matters. Qualitative data demonstrated the value of HJP to increase practitioner confidence and understanding of legal support pathways while empowering caregivers to access legal support.
These HJPs improved access to legal support for families experiencing adversity and enabled early intervention. Improved outcomes from HJP depends upon the level of investment from each partner and the level of assistance the HJP can provide.
健康司法伙伴关系(HJP)将法律支持融入医疗团队,以满足患者未得到满足的法律需求。经历逆境的家庭可能有多种法律需求,但不太可能寻求法律援助。在综合健康和社会护理中心实施HJP可能通过解决与未得到满足的法律需求相关的逆境来改善家庭的状况。
在澳大利亚的两个地点对新的HJP进行了混合方法评估。收集了关于法律服务使用情况的过程数据。定性数据探讨了法律支持的体验。
在两个地点共转介了40名照顾者,在前12个月内有38人接受了服务。照顾者平均每人有2.5个法律问题;65%的转介涉及家庭暴力和家庭法事务,31%涉及民法事务,4%涉及刑事事务。定性数据表明,HJP有助于提高从业者对法律支持途径的信心和理解,同时使照顾者有能力获得法律支持。
这些HJP改善了经历逆境的家庭获得法律支持的机会,并实现了早期干预。HJP取得更好的效果取决于每个合作伙伴的投入水平以及HJP能够提供的援助水平。