Service-specific factors associated with unmet healthcare needs among people with disabilities in South Korea

People with disabilities often experience unmet healthcare needs, and the factors associated with these needs may differ across healthcare service types. This study examined service-specific factors associated with unmet healthcare needs using Andersen's Behavioral Model. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 201 people with disabilities registered at a regional health and medical center in South Korea and their caregivers between November and December 2024. We assessed unmet needs for outpatient services, dental care, health screening, and home-visit rehabilitation, and classified independent variables as predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Unmet healthcare needs and their associated factors differed by service type. For outpatient services, assistance required in activities of daily living was associated with unmet need. For dental care, living arrangement, multiple disabilities, and depressive symptoms were associated with unmet need. For health screening, marital status and disability registration duration were associated with unmet need. For home-visit rehabilitation, sex was associated with unmet need. These findings suggest that unmet healthcare needs among people with disabilities should be addressed through service-specific strategies that reflect the distinct barriers and associated factors for each type of care.