Citation

Hart A, Chai PR, Griswold MK, Lai JT, Boyer EW, Broach J. Am. J. Disaster Med. 2017; 12(4): 261-265.

Affiliation

Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, North Worcester, Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society of Disaster Medicine, Publisher Weston Medical Publishing)

DOI

10.5055/ajdm.2017.0279

PMID

29468628

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to understand the acceptability and perceived utility of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) scene management.

DESIGN: Qualitative questionnaires regarding the ease of operation, perceived usefulness, and training time to operate UAVs were administered to Emergency Medical Technicians (n = 15). SETTING: A Single Urban New England Academic Tertiary Care Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: Front-line emergency medical service (EMS) providers and senior EMS personnel in Incident Commander roles.

CONCLUSIONS: Data from this pilot study indicate that EMS responders are accepting to deploying and operating UAV technology in a disaster scenario. Additionally, they perceived UAV technology as easy to adopt yet impactful in improving MCI scene management.

Language: en