People impacted by or living with HIV experience numerous disparities in access to healthcare, including health-harming legal needs (HHLN) such as experiences of discrimination, housing instability, immigration concerns, denial of benefits, and domestic violence. Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP) provide an opportunity for people impacted by or living with HIV to obtain access to legal services that facilitate positive health outcomes, placing the needs of individual participants at the center of these intervention models. The research talk will offer an overview of four U.S. federally-funded MLP studies that address health disparities, including disparities in HIV within priority populations such as sexual and gender minorities, gender minority youth, formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants, and youth.

These studies incorporate at least two of these four core components: 1) comprehensive training and capacity building of all staff: medical, social-behavioral, and legal; 2) comprehensive screening to identify HHLN; 3) provision of legal support by a partnering local community health organization; and 4) in-service clinics and workshops at healthcare sites covering HHLN topics with a focus on preventive legal aid. All of these studies are guided by community advisory boards, ensuring community voices, feedback and representation are integrated into all stages of the research process. A holistic approach to HIV prevention and care is critical to mitigating health disparities, meeting people where they are, and delivering comprehensive services that prioritize client-centered approaches. MLPs, as structural interventions, hold the potential to offer an opportunity for the reduction of HHLN and contribute to diminishing barriers to healthcare for individuals impacted by or living with HIV.