Analysis of Income Inequality in Utilization of Rehabilitation Services among Urban and Rural Households in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Introduction: The prevalence of impairment and disability due to the aging population, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and accidents have increased the demand for rehabilitation services. The purpose of this study was to determine inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services among Iranian households. Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study and was done using Household Expenditure Survey data of Iran Statistics Center in 2019. After extracting and refining the data, 38960 households were included in the study. The factors affecting household utilization from rehabilitation services were analyzed using chi2 test and inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services measured based on concentration index (CI). Data were extracted using MSAccess2013 and MSExcel2013 software and data analyzed using Stata V.14.1 software. Geographical maps of the utilization of the services depicted using ArcGISMap v.10 software. Results: A total of 258 households (0.77%) utilized from rehabilitation services. Households without insurance coverage were less likely to benefit from the services (p <0.05). Also, 1.32% of Fifth Income Quintile (the highest income) used rehabilitation services, while this proportion was 0.35% among First Quintile households (p <0.001). The highest and lowest proportion of rehabilitation services were in Qom and Bushehr provinces, respectively. The concentration index values for rural and urban areas and for the whole country were 0.27, 0.19 and 0.24, respectively (p <0.001).