Digital Transformation in Public Health and Safety: Integrating Drones, GIS, and Satellite Technology in Emergency Wildfire Response
Yoghana Mercer-Bey
Abstract
The rising intensity of wildfires due to climate change has made their effects on public health, as well as psychological well-being and emergency infrastructure response, more critical. The review examines wildfire exposure effects on human health and mental state while focusing on vulnerable groups, including children and older adults in low-income communities and emergency response personnel. The implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles in wildfire response operations presents substantial opportunities to mitigate these impacts through enhanced detection capabilities, improved surveillance, and more effective evacuation coordination. The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles in the field faces multiple challenges because of operational issues, ethical concerns, and equity barriers. The review employs transformational leadership theory, the systems theory, the technology acceptance model, and the diffusion of innovation theory to investigate how unmanned aerial vehicles can serve both fire suppression and public health protection, as well as post-disaster recovery needs. The analysis demonstrates that the unmanned aerial vehicle data requires integration into trauma-informed response systems, which should include air quality alerts, pediatric respiratory surveillance, and culturally responsive mental health outreach. The main obstacles to drone deployment models include insufficient representation of psychosocial effects, ethical issues with surveillance practices, and poor integration between unmanned aerial vehicles and public health agencies. The research demands interdisciplinary approaches to connect drone technology with disaster resilience frameworks that promote equality and inclusion. Future studies should develop explainable artificial intelligence models and interoperable public health surveillance tools, as well as conduct longitudinal assessments of community health outcomes. Unmanned aerial vehicles need to transform from their current tactical role into essential components of a disaster response system that uses health information to benefit vulnerable populations.