Stakeholder Acceptance of Drones in Prehospital Emergency Care An Integrative Review
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Abstract
Objectives: Drones are increasingly examined as tools to strengthen prehospital emergency care through rapid supply delivery, improved scene access, and situational support. Successful integration depends not only on technical performance, but on how drones are perceived by clinicians, telecommunicators, bystanders, patients, and communities. This integrative review, informed by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), synthesized empirical evidence on stakeholder perspectives regarding drone integration in prehospital emergency care to identify perceived benefits, concerns, and implications for practice and policy.
Methods: Five databases were searched in November 2025: CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar. English-language peer-reviewed studies from the previous 10 years were included if they examined stakeholder perceptions of drones in prehospital or emergency contexts. Studies without perceptual data or unrelated to prehospital care were excluded. Included studies were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and synthesized thematically.
Results: Eighteen empirical studies were included, reflecting perspectives of bystanders, health care professionals, telecommunicators, patients, and community members. Five themes emerged: perceived value and acceptance; safety and ethical concerns; usability experiences; operational feasibility and system readiness; and training needs. Perceived usefulness was the strongest driver of acceptance; perceived ease of use was more variable and shaped by communication, preparation, and contextual readiness.
Conclusions: Drone adoption in prehospital emergency care requires human and organizational readiness alongside technical capability. Implementation should prioritize drone-integrated workflows, telecommunicator and community training, and equitable deployment planning.
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