Need and acceptability of a health-justice partnership for women with pelvic floor dysfunction

Background/Purpose: The current paper reports three new studies exploring need and feasibility of a Health Justice Partnership (HJP) for women with Pelvic-floor Dysfunction (PFD) focusing on: levels of legal need of women with PFD; whether women with PFD would confide in healthcare professionals about legal issues; and perspectives on HJP referrals by healthcare professionals.Methods: Study 1 (n=37) examined clinicians views; Study 2 (n=104) explored views of women with self-reported PFD; and Study 3 (n=109) explored views of women with diagnosed PFD referred for women's health physiotherapy.In all studies participants completed online surveys about their legal experiences and need, as well as their views of an HJP. Result:In Study 1, clinicians suggested over 25% of patients mentioned legal issues, mainly current and historical abuse, and over 80% found the idea of HJP referral acceptable.Study 3 noted over 80% of PFD patients had legal issues, with over 80% reporting acceptability of an HJP.Clinicians and patients believed an HJP would improve patient health.Similar results with respect to the acceptability of an HJP were observed in Study 2 with a self-reported sample, but with lower percentages noting legal problems.Conclusions: These studies suggest that offering legal support to patients with PFD who it may be beneficial, and that an HJP referral system would be acceptable, and that legal support was felt to offer potential health benefits.