The Moderating Role of Pro-Innovative Leadership and Gender as an Enabler for Future Drone Transports in Healthcare Systems

Drones have been suggested as an emerging technology that has the potential to disrupt and improve healthcare. The attitude among healthcare workers towards the use of drones is important for its successful implementation. Our aim was to examine individual and institutional variables among employees that may be relevant for the successful implementation of drones. This study used a self-administered questionnaire to investigate the expectations and beliefs among 400 employees at three Norwegian healthcare organizations regarding the future role of drones in the provision of healthcare. The results showed that the use of drones in healthcare is positively perceived across professional groups, age, and location. Working in an innovative environment, having experienced previous technological change in one’s working environment, and having leadership that supports new ideas were identified as drivers of individual beliefs regarding the use of drones as an innovative solution in future healthcare services. Men had significantly higher scores than women, and this was associated with reporting innovative leadership. This may indicate that a future implementation of drone usage should focus on local system environments and may depend on the presence of innovative leadership. Our results are harvested from a developed health care system and should be applicable for similar technologically advanced systems where the full potential of drone solutions may benefit from the integration of drones into the overall socio-technical system.