Regional differences in the provision of home-visit rehabilitation services in Japan

Abstract

[Purpose] This study aimed to clarify regional disparities in the provision of home-visit rehabilitation services across all prefectures in Japan by performing a secondary analysis of government data. [Participants and Methods] The number of home-visit rehabilitation sessions per prefecture was determined to estimate regional disparities. Furthermore, the data for 2013 and 2021 were compared to investigate changes in home-visit rehabilitation provision. [Results] From 2013 to 2021, the increase in the number of home-visit rehabilitation sessions by prefecture was greater than that in the older population. However, prefectures that provided fewer home-visit rehabilitation sessions to older residents in 2013 also tended to provide fewer sessions in 2021. Therefore, regional disparities at the prefectural level did not decrease. In the Tohoku region, four out of six prefectures continued to have low provision levels of home-visit rehabilitation services. [Conclusion] The number of home-visit rehabilitation sessions provided was low in rural prefectures. Although the findings suggest an improvement in the provision of home-visit rehabilitation services from 2013 to 2021, the increased number of rehabilitation sessions did not reduce regional disparities among prefectures.