{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T10:47:03Z","timestamp":1792234023969,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001411","name":"Indian Council of Medical Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001411","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["DIGITAL HEALTH"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Delays in transporting sputum samples and medicines from peripheral health centers to diagnostic laboratories are a persistent barrier to timely tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in rural India. Conventional transport methods are often constrained by poor road connectivity, long travel times, and logistical inefficiencies. Unmanned aerial vehicles\/drones have shown promise in bridging such gaps in other low-resource and rural areas, yet there is limited evidence on their feasibility, acceptability, and integration within India's National TB Elimination Programme.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In the present qualitative study, 28 in-depth interviews and 12 focus group discussions with 101 purposively selected stakeholders were conducted to understand the feasibility across the five components: acceptability, demand, practicality, implementation, and integration. Data were thematically analyzed using a feasibility framework. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC No: AIIMS\/BBN\/IEC\/JULY\/2022\/164), and written and verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants highlighted that drones improved acceptability, demand, and integration by reducing travel, enabling timely sputum and medicine delivery, and building community trust. Practicality and implementation were supported by coordination and district authority support, and while stigma, limited payload, weather disruptions, and training gaps were noted, they were viewed as improvable. Peripheral workers were central to community uptake and routine adoption.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Drone-based sputum and medicine transport is operationally feasible and acceptable in rural Indian settings, and participants viewed drones as a promising way to reduce sample transport times and improve access to diagnostics, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Addressing awareness gaps, stigma, operational barriers, and regulatory delays, while embedding drones into existing health systems, could enable sustainable scale-up and strengthen rural diagnostic networks.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/20552076251406320","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T17:13:44Z","timestamp":1768842824000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Feasibility of drone-based sputum sample and medicine transport for tuberculosis diagnosis in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri District of Telangana, India: A qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6300-3418","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bhushan Dattatray","family":"Kamble","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3113-8857","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kuldeep","family":"Nigam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Medical Research-HQ"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0652-1611","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sumit","family":"Aggarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Medical Research-HQ"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meely","family":"Panda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1816-9703","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gayatri","family":"Potukuchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vidya","family":"Ganji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIIMS, Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rashmi","family":"Kundapur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Neeraj","family":"Agarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vikas","family":"Bhatia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIIMS Bibinagar"},{"name":"AIIMS"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","unstructured":"WHO. WHO calls for action to uphold right to health amidst inaction injustice and crises. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available from: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/05-04-2024-who-calls-for-action-to-uphold-right-to-health-amidst-inaction\u2013injustice-and-crises (2024 accessed 16 January 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/trstmh\/trac021"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_413_18"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13049-024-01180-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/s41271-025-00553-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/ijcm.ijcm_206_24"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-022-05580-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_2","unstructured":"UPS. Rwanda launches world\u2019s first national drone delivery service powered by Zipline. GlobeNewswire https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/en\/news-release\/2016\/10\/13\/879457\/30428\/en\/Rwanda-Launches-World-s-First-National-Drone-Delivery-Service-Powered-by-Zipline.html (2016 accessed 11 August 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-024-11824-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_2","unstructured":"Stop TB Partnership. Unmanned aerial vehicles: a tool for tuberculosis care https:\/\/www.stoptb.org\/unmanned-aerial-vehicles-tool-tuberculosis-care (2025 accessed 11 August 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_2","unstructured":"UNICEF Office of Innovation. Africa\u2019s first humanitarian drone testing corridor https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/innovation\/drones\/africa-first-humanitarian-drone-corridor-malawi (2025 accessed 16 October 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2023-012522"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjph-2024-000894"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sftr.2025.100536"}],"container-title":["DIGITAL HEALTH"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/20552076251406320","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/20552076251406320","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/20552076251406320","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T17:55:33Z","timestamp":1777398933000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/20552076251406320"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"references-count":14,"alternative-id":["10.1177\/20552076251406320"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20552076251406320","relation":{},"ISSN":["2055-2076","2055-2076"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2055-2076","type":"print"},{"value":"2055-2076","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"article-number":"20552076251406320"}}