A Systematic Literature Review of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Healthcare and Emergency Services
Sara Habibi, Naghmeh Ivaki, João Barata
TL;DR
The paper surveys the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in healthcare and emergency services through a two-stage systematic literature review, analyzing 15 review papers and 136 primary studies. It identifies nine application domains (notably healthcare emergencies, disaster management, and medical supply delivery), documents observed benefits such as reduced response times and improved survival, and highlights substantial challenges including regulatory, safety, privacy, and infrastructure barriers. Most primary studies are simulation or pilot efforts, underscoring a gap between conceptual potential and real-world deployment. The work emphasizes the need for decision models, standardized integration protocols, and robust security and regulatory frameworks to realize UAVs' practical impact on public health and emergency resilience.
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), initially developed for military applications, are now used in various fields. As UAVs become more common across multiple industries, it is crucial to understand how to adopt them effectively, efficiently, and safely. The utilization of UAVs in healthcare and emergency services has evolved significantly in recent years, with these aerial vehicles potentially contributing to increased survival rates and enhanced healthcare services. This paper presents a two-stage systematic literature review, including a tertiary study of 15 review papers and an in-depth assessment of 136 primary publications focused on using UAVs in healthcare and emergency services. The research demonstrates how civilian UAVs have been used in numerous applications, such as healthcare emergencies, medical supply delivery, and disaster management, for diverse use cases such as Automated External Defibrillator (AED) delivery, blood delivery, and search and rescue. The studies indicate that UAVs significantly improve response times in emergency situations, enhance survival rates by ensuring the timely delivery of critical medical supplies such as AEDs, and prove to be cost-effective alternatives to traditional delivery methods, especially in remote or inaccessible areas. The studies also highlight the need for ongoing research and development to address existing challenges, such as regulatory frameworks, security, privacy and safety concerns, infrastructure development, and ethical and social issues. Effectively understanding and tackling these challenges is essential for maximizing the benefits of UAV technology in healthcare and emergency services, ultimately leading to safer, more resilient, and responsive systems that can better serve public health needs.