Inequality in the Utilization of Rehabilitation Services Among Urban and Rural Households in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

 Demographic and epidemiological changes in the 21st century have created new challenges such as aging and the rising trend of non-communicable diseases. The high prevalence of disability (due to the growing aging population), non-communicable diseases, and accidents have increased the demand for rehabilitation services. However, there are not enough resources to meet all current needs in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services between Iranian households in urban and rural areas.

This is a descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design using the household expenditure, income survey data from the Statistics Center of Iran in 2018. The used instrument was a questionnaire surveying the expenditure and income of urban and rural households (social characteristics of household members, place of residence and main living facilities, food/non-food expenses, and household income), which was completed through interviewing the household head or a member over 15 years of age. The study samples were 18610 households in rural areas and 20348 households in urban areas. After extracting and refining the data, 38958 households were included in the study. Factors affecting their utilization of rehabilitation services and the inequality in utilization were analyzed using the Chi-square test and the concentration index (CI), respectively. Data were extracted in MS Access 2013 and MS Excel 2013 applications and were analyzed in STATA V.14.1 software. The geographic distribution of the service utilization was plotted using ArcGIS Map V. 10 software.

 A total of 258 households (0.77%) used rehabilitation services. Of these, 226 (87%) had a male head, and 32 (13%) had a female head. About 60% had 3-4 members, and 239 (92%) had insurance coverage, and others (8%) had no insurance coverage. Also, 173 (67%) had an employed head. Finally, 55% were living in rural areas, and 45% in urban areas. Uninsured households had less use of rehabilitation services (P<0.05). Also, 1.32% of the fifth income quintile (highest income) used rehabilitation services, while this rate was 0.35% for households in the first quintile (P<0.001). Zanjan, Qazvin, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Semnan provinces had the lowest service utilization rates in urban/rural areas and the whole country. Qom province had a better status regarding service utilization in urban areas, while East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Yazd, Fars, and Hormozgan provinces had higher service utilization rates in rural areas. Overall, East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, and Qom provinces had a higher rate of utilization. The CI value for the whole country was reported at 0.24 (95% CI: 0.17-0.30), indicating a higher inequality in utilization in favor of the rich. The CI values for rural and urban areas were 0.27 and 0.19, respectively (P<0.001).

There is inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services in favor of the rich households in Iran, and low-income households have lower access to these services. The inclusion of rehabilitation services in the primary health insurance package with appropriate pricing and population coverage, and fair distribution of rehabilitation services following the needs of public and private sectors, can increase the access and utilization of rehabilitation services.