Research
We promote the value of rigorous research on health justice partnerships, to develop a strong evidence base that can inform policy and practice.
We contribute to the development of new academic research projects, and support practitioners in planning local service evaluation work.
Links to relevant health and legal policies in the UK can be found under Useful Links on the Information for Practitioners page.
Current Projects
- We contribute to advisory groups to support various ongoing research projects, including: i) the Ministry of Justice evaluation of health justice partnerships in primary care settings; ii) the evaluation of the Healthier Wealthier Families pilot in Tower Hamlets; and iii) the evaluation of the Financial Shield service in Lambeth and Southwark
- We are working with Health Justice Australia and the National Centre for Medical-Legal Partnership in the USA to publish research on health justice partnerships internationally.
- We are working with Barts Health NHS Trust to evaluate the use of legal letters to landlords and housing authorities, to rectify mould and poor housing conditions among asthma patients.
Related Research and Evaluations
Previous Projects
2023: Health Justice Partnerships: Funding welfare rights advice services to work in partnership with healthcare
In 2023, we conducted research to understand the nature of funding for health justice partnerships in the UK, in order to inform future policy actions. Seventy-five services responded to our survey, highlighting the challenges around short-term funding as well as the factors that contributed to new and sustained funding. In spite of the fragmented nature of funding for the advice sector nationally, there is a strong case for investment to support health and address health inequalities. The findings from this report are intended to inform local and national action to improve sustainable funding for health justice partnerships.
2018-2022: Health Justice Partnerships Implementation Research
In 2018-2022, we carried out research through an NIHR-funded PhD studentship focusing on the implementation of Health Justice Partnerships. The work included: i) a systematic review of the international literature, looking at both the impacts and implementation of Health Justice Partnerships; ii) a comparative case study of Health Justice Partnerships in England, focussed on the factors affecting implementation success; and iii) and stakeholder consultation to discuss the findings and shape future research and policy activities.
The full thesis is available here: Implementation of Health Justice Partnerships – Integrating welfare rights advice services with patient care
A summary report of the fieldwork is available here:
2018: Mapping Health Justice Partnerships in England and Wales
In 2018, we were commissioned by The Legal Education Foundation to undertake a mapping exercise to identify and characterise services across England and Wales that deliver social welfare legal advice in healthcare settings. Building on work undertaken for the Low Commission report 2015, we aimed to: i) update current knowledge on existing services; ii) gather information on the work being undertaken; iii) describe variation in services across the country; iv) identify gaps in service provision.
The report of this mapping study is available here: The Health Justice Landscape in England and Wales
2016-2018: Evaluation of the Liberty Bridge Road Health Justice Partnership
In 2016-2018, we undertook an evaluation of the UCL integrated Legal Advice Clinic during its time based at the Liberty Bridge Road GP practice in Stratford (East London). This study explored how the provision of free legal advice in a primary care setting is associated with the health and wellbeing of individuals who use the service. The work involved a client survey of health and wellbeing, and interviews with local GPs about their interactions with the legal advice service.
Study information:
- Project listing on the ISRCTN database
Findings:
The results are presented as a case study in our report:
1996-1999: Paths to Justice Research
In 1996, Professor Dame Hazel Genn (UCL Professor of Socio-Legal Studies) was commissioned by the Nuffield Foundation to conduct a national survey of public experiences of the justice system in England and Wales and another the following year in Scotland. The result, Paths to Justice, was a landmark body of research that provided unique data on the public experience of the justice system, transformed understanding and policy on the legal needs of citizens, and led to the adaptation of legal aid and legal services to citizens’ needs.
Some key findings:
- Paths to Justice found that involvement in everyday legal problems was widespread, and that problems often ‘cluster’ together with identifiable ‘trigger’ events producing a cascade of further problems that can significantly impact public health and well-being.
- The research indicated a need for targeted early advice and intervention. But the study found that people were often unable to access information and advice, that they felt powerless, unsure of their rights and confused about where to obtain help. This was especially true for socially excluded groups.
The Paths to Justice survey is now funded by the Ministry of Justice as a continuous panel study, the Civil and Social Justice Survey, and it has been replicated in 14 different jurisdictions around the world including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Taiwan, Netherlands, Moldova and Scotland.
Read more about the Paths to Justice research on the UCL Laws website
Read more about Paths to justice – a past, present and future roadmap on the Nuffield Foundation website.
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