<![CDATA[Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a major cause of disability among older adults. Yet, qualitative evidence on the experience of medical rehabilitation within hospital-based, nationally insured health systems such as Indonesia's remains limited. This study aims to explore how older adults with KOA described their experience of undergoing medical rehabilitation at a hospital-based outpatient clinic in Indonesia. A qualitative exploratory-interpretive design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 older adults (6 women, 4 men; median age 68 years, range 61–84) undergoing medical rehabilitation for KOA at a teaching hospital rehabilitation clinic in Bandung, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were generated: (1) navigating uncertainty toward controlled self-management of pain and procedures, including initial apprehension toward unfamiliar or invasive modalities such as dry needling; (2) restoring functional roles in daily and religious life, particularly movements associated with prayer and agricultural work; and (3) support networks and systemic barriers, including family and peer support alongside administrative barriers related to insurance referral renewal and cross-clinic scheduling conflicts. These barriers recurred across participants but were not universal. In conclusion, older adults' experience of KOA rehabilitation extended beyond pain relief to the restoration of culturally and religiously meaningful roles, supported by family, peer, and clinical relationships within a system shaped by administrative constraints specific to the Indonesian insurance context. These findings may inform more individualized, patient-centered rehabilitation planning in similar hospital-based settings.]]>
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