en Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Original Research Original Research <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">Background: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">People with disabilities have greater unmet needs and need health care. These people are acknowledged as a global development priority. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">This study aimed to investigate the utilization of rehabilitation services by people with disabilities covered by the Iran Health Insurance Organization.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Methods:</b> This was a cross-sectional descriptive study at the national level. A total of 3676 out of 315,626 insured people with disabilities covered by the Iran Health Insurance Organization were selected from all provinces of the country using a simple random sampling method proportional to the size of the insured population. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Results:</b> A total of 53% of people reported needing rehabilitation services in 2021. Of those requiring rehabilitation services, 51% required physical therapy, 50% occupational therapy, 22% speech therapy, 19% optometry, 13% audiometry, and less than 1% orthotics and prosthetics. Also, &nbsp;only 41% of people who needed rehabilitation services received them. The main reasons for not receiving needed services were financial inability to pay for treatment (76%), physical inability to follow treatment (16%), and the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (8%).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Conclusion:</b> The inability to pay fees emerged as the most significant barrier to receiving essential rehabilitation services. Enhancing the financial coverage provided by basic health insurance funds is crucial. Expanding coverage will enable more patients to utilize the rehabilitation services they need, ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder access to vital care. This policy adjustment could be key in increasing the utilization of rehabilitation services and improving overall health outcomes for those in need.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; People with Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, Utilization, Iran Health Insurance Organization, Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic, Iran 528 535 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2823-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Samira Arabi samiraarabi1372@gmail.com 200319475328460091750 0009-0009-8698-6846 No Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Mahdi Nasehi mmnasehi@gmail.com 200319475328460091751 200319475328460091751 No Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Research Institute for Child Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Zahra Shahali z.shahali3000@ihio.gov.ir 200319475328460091752 200319475328460091752 No National Center for Health Insurance Research, Tehran, Iran Ali Shojaee shojaeeali1@yahoo.com 200319475328460091753 200319475328460091753 No Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohsen Dehghani mohsendehghani.ir@yahoo.com 200319475328460091754 200319475328460091754 No Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mehdi Rezaee rezaee.mehdi96@gmail.com 200319475328460091755 200319475328460091755 No Department of Orthopedics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hossein Ranjbaran ho.ranjbaran@gmail.com 200319475328460091756 200319475328460091756 No Immunogenetics Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Parvaneh Keyhani ihionchir@gmail.com 200319475328460091757 200319475328460091757 No National Center for Health Insurance Research, Tehran, Iran Rajabali Daroudi rdaroudi@sina.tums.ac.ir 200319475328460091758 200319475328460091758 Yes Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran