Requirements for and Barriers to Rehabilitation Services for Children With Disabilities in Middle- and High-Income Countries: Scoping Review

Background: The rehabilitation of children with disabilities has received considerable attention from the United Nations.However, the state of rehabilitation services for children with disabilities worldwide remains far from optimistic, even ineconomically affluent middle- and high-income countries. Objective: This scoping review aimed to identify the rehabilitation needs of children with disabilities and their barriers torehabilitation services in middle- and high-income countries. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using MEDLINE and Web of Science for papers published from January 2013to December 2023. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, full-text articles related to children with disabilities,reporting on their access to rehabilitation services, and conducted in countries classified by the World Bank 2023 as middle- andhigh-income economies. Exclusion criteria included duplicates, unavailable full texts, and studies without distinct outcomes. Atotal of 27 studies were selected following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)guidelines, focusing on children, their families, or service providers. Results: The suitability, availability, and affordability of rehabilitation services were identified as the major needs and barriersfor children with disabilities in middle- and high-income countries. This included communication barriers, a need for morepersonnel and facilities, and the stagnation and inadequacy of economic subsidies. Conclusions: Middle- and high-income countries have relatively well-established rehabilitation infrastructure and supportsystems. They are nevertheless insufficient for meeting the needs of children with disabilities. More attention should be paid tothese issues to improve the well-being of children with disabilities. The data provided by this review can help raise awareness ofrehabilitation needs and barriers at the policy level