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Human Perspectives on Medical Drone Delivery: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Access to medical care can be limited by inadequate infrastructure, such as missing road networks, and transport barriers, including urban traffic congestion. Medical drone deliveries may help address these gaps by enabling rapid, potentially cost-effective, and sustainable transport of medical supplies, particularly in time-critical emergency situations. Successful implementation depends on regulatory frameworks, international differences, cultural contexts, and the acceptance of affected populations.
Objective:
This scoping review systematically investigated human perspectives on medical drone delivery across geographical and social contexts, by synthesizing evidence on perceptions, understanding, and reactions to medical drone delivery.
Methods:
Following PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidance, searches were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL via EBSCO, and SpringerLink, supplemented by backward citation searching. After full-text screening, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included.
Results:
The included studies were heterogeneous with respect to study stimulus, ranging from verbal stimuli to simulated scenarios and real-world applications, as well as methodology, application area, sample characteristics, and type of medical goods delivered. Substantive findings were categorized into five themes: (1) Awareness and Understanding of Drone Technology, (2) Acceptance and Attitudes toward Drone Delivery, (3) Perceived Benefits, (4) Concerns and Barriers to Adoption, and (5) Required Implementation Measures. Perceived benefits, particularly improved access to medication and healthcare services, were associated with more positive perceptions. However, perceptions also varied according to perceived risks, geographical context, and prior experience with drone technology. Awareness, familiarity, and the extent of existing medical drone delivery operations differed across countries, communities, and occupational groups.
Conclusions:
Acceptance of medical drone delivery is context-dependent and shaped by awareness, prior experience, perceived benefits, and concerns. Implementation strategies should therefore be tailored to local contexts and stakeholder needs, address perceived risks, and provide appropriate training and information to relevant stakeholders and affected communities.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.