Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have significant potential in the healthcare field. Ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities of using drones for specific and diverse healthcare purposes have been minimally explored to date. This paper aims to document and a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Drones |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/4/3/44 |
| _version_ | 1827709296373137408 |
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| author | Vyshnave Jeyabalan Elysée Nouvet Patrick Meier Lorie Donelle |
| author_facet | Vyshnave Jeyabalan Elysée Nouvet Patrick Meier Lorie Donelle |
| author_sort | Vyshnave Jeyabalan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have significant potential in the healthcare field. Ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities of using drones for specific and diverse healthcare purposes have been minimally explored to date. This paper aims to document and advance awareness of diverse context-specific concerns, challenges, and complexities encountered by individuals working on the front lines of drones for health. It draws on original qualitative research and data from semi-structured interviews (N = 16) with drones for health program managers and field staff in nine countries. Directed thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews and identify key ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities experienced by participants in their work with drones for health projects. While some concerns, challenges, and complexities described by study participants were more technical in nature, for example, those related to drone technology and approval processes, the majority were not. The bulk of context-specific concerns and challenges identified by participants, we propose, could be mitigated through community engagement initiatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:18:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1dd34505e6714b23aac3c0ddd138b9fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:18:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj.art-1dd34505e6714b23aac3c0ddd138b9fe2023-11-20T10:22:39ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2020-08-01434410.3390/drones4030044Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative StudyVyshnave Jeyabalan0Elysée Nouvet1Patrick Meier2Lorie Donelle3Department of Health Information Science, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, FIMS & Nursing Building London, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaSchool of Health Studies, Labatt Health Sciences Building London, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaWeRobotics, 1204 Geneva, SwitzerlandArthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, FIMS & Nursing Building London, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have significant potential in the healthcare field. Ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities of using drones for specific and diverse healthcare purposes have been minimally explored to date. This paper aims to document and advance awareness of diverse context-specific concerns, challenges, and complexities encountered by individuals working on the front lines of drones for health. It draws on original qualitative research and data from semi-structured interviews (N = 16) with drones for health program managers and field staff in nine countries. Directed thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews and identify key ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities experienced by participants in their work with drones for health projects. While some concerns, challenges, and complexities described by study participants were more technical in nature, for example, those related to drone technology and approval processes, the majority were not. The bulk of context-specific concerns and challenges identified by participants, we propose, could be mitigated through community engagement initiatives.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/4/3/44dronesunmanned aerial vehiclehealthhealthcaredelivery of healthcare |
| spellingShingle | Vyshnave Jeyabalan Elysée Nouvet Patrick Meier Lorie Donelle Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study Drones drones unmanned aerial vehicle health healthcare delivery of health care |
| title | Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study |
| title_full | Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study |
| title_fullStr | Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study |
| title_short | Context-Specific Challenges, Opportunities, and Ethics of Drones for Healthcare Delivery in the Eyes of Program Managers and Field Staff: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study |
| title_sort | context specific challenges opportunities and ethics of drones for healthcare delivery in the eyes of program managers and field staff a multi site qualitative study |
| topic | drones unmanned aerial vehicle health healthcare delivery of health care |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/4/3/44 |
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