Covid 19: Pilot: UK-CARES Rapid Response Mini-Grant: Access to Personal Protective Equipment for a High Risk Appalachia Population using Aerial Drones and Community Health Workers

Access to Personal Protective Equipment for a High Risk Appalachia Population using Aerial Drones and Community Health Workers People with underlying health conditions who contract COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 are at high risk for poor outcomes such as hospitalizations, intensive care admissions, and death. Aligned with this community concern, faculty and staff at the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health (UKCERH) and the UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) have been meeting regularly with staff from the USA Drone Port in Hazard, KY and leaders from the Perry County Wellness Coalition. Together we have explored how we might coordinate the use of CHWs and drone technologies to increase rural access to PPE. The USA Drone Port, whose campus is located on the border between Perry and Knott Counties, is well-situated geographically and strategically prepared to partner with KY Homeplace to develop and pilot test best practices for drone-based package delivery to clients in the region. The results will add new knowledge about how drones can be used to increase use of PPE with high-risk clients living in Appalachia. The findings will inform Homeplace policies and procedures and assess the effectiveness of CHWs as patient educators on drone delivery protocols. The findings will be used by the USA Drone Port to apply for FAA approval for beyond visual line-of-sight flight missions by drone pilots. , The UK-CARES Executive Committee believes that drone technology could be a cutting-edge approach to building capacity for environmental health science in our target region, increasing the competitiveness of our renewal application.