Project SUPPORT

Project SUPPORT is a randomized controlled trial at the largest safety-net medical center in New England, Boston Medical Center, to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional navigation compared to navigation with legal support by the Boston Medical Legal Partnership.

We will randomize 300 low income and racially diverse newly diagnosed cancer patients. The control arm will receive traditional navigation: a lay health worker integrated into the healthcare team who provides 1:1 patient contact to identify and address traditional system barriers to care. The intervention arm will receive traditional navigation enhanced by legal support including: a) a full socio-legal needs assessment and care plan in consultation with MLP, and b) pro bono direct legal assistance for eligible acute legal needs. We will compare each group on patient-reported and clinical outcomes.