# Forging sustainable solutions for HIV continuity of care through medical-legal partnerships

> **NIH NIH R34** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2022 · $235,980

## Abstract

Project Summary
A health-harming legal need is a social problem that adversely affects a person's health or access
to health care and which is better remedied through the combination of legal care and health care. Medical
legal partnerships (MLPs) have been underutilized as structural interventions; however, they could help
improve HIV care continuum outcomes in health care organizations. The goal of this study is to test the
Organizational Partnerships for Healthy Living (OPAHL) intervention through a feasibility and acceptability trial.
OPAHL is an innovative, multilevel intervention package intended for health care organizations serving people
living with HIV (PLWH). It was developed through a prior study (grant #: R21 MH115820) using intervention
mapping methodology and community-scientific collaborative boards. OPAHL consists of: 1) training (7/8hours)
for all MLP staff (clinical, social and behavioral services, and legal) on HIV continuum of care, health harming
legal risks and needs, and MLP structure and operations to ensure that an integrated and collaborative
environment is established from the earliest stages of the program; 2) case management training on the legal
continuum of care; 3) embedding of legal expertise within regularized case management team meetings; 4) co-
location of legal services in health care agencies through MLP inter-organizational partnership within 3 months;
and 5) organizationally tailored implementation of best-practice communication and information-sharing
protocols among providers within MLP, anchored in patient autonomy and choice. The specific aims of this
study are: 1) to refine the OPAHL intervention prototype for implementation with PLWH with detectable viral
loads and 2) to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects sizes of OPAHL. Given the current
COVID-19 pandemic, the study will also explore MLP opportunities that respond at the intersection of
HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 prevention and treatment. Two health care organizations serving PLWH Philadelphia,
PA that do not currently provide any form of legal services to their patients will participate in this trial (n=200
PLWH). The proposed study is in response to PA-20-141: Formative and Pilot Intervention Research for
Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (R34 Clinical Trial Optional). It is also responsive to two of the areas of
high priority research of NIMH Division of AIDS Research (Develop and test interventions to improve HIV
treatment outcomes; Advance the development and testing of interventions delivered beyond the individual
level). Completion of this project will result in the development of an intervention package to optimize HIV
services for a highly vulnerable population whose HIV care is affected by health-harming legal needs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10454965
- **Project number:** 5R34MH125718-02
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** MIGUEL A MUNOZ-LABOY
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $235,980
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-21 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10454965

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10454965, Forging sustainable solutions for HIV continuity of care through medical-legal partnerships (5R34MH125718-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10454965. Licensed CC0.

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