Mobile e-Health is a ground-breaking edited book that explores the growing field of electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth) technologies, including life-logging activities, mobile health apps and digital gaming with a health purpose. Overall, the book presents an overview of the various factors that should be considered if looking to develop, implement, or research the impact of an mHealth or eHealth technology. While focusing on older adults, much of the content could apply to any population.

Co-editors of the volume hail from the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. Hannah R. Marston is currently a research fellow in the Health and Wellbeing Priority Research Area at the Open University, UK, with a specialisation in digital games, health, ageing and technology. Shannon Freeman is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Northern British Columbia, with specialised interest in the health and wellbeing of marginalised and at-risk populations. Charles Musselwhite is an associate professor at the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University, with a specialisation in how health is impacted by transportation and built environments. Chapter contributors span Australia, Europe and North America.

While providing a robust history of mHealth and telemedicine in general, a substantial portion of the book is focused on providing design and regulatory guidelines. Chapters include integrations and revisions of current design methodologies to suit the unique needs of the mHealth market, including how such creations can offer universal usability while meeting the restraints of mobile technology standards (Chapter 2, ‘Universal Design Mobile Interface Guidelines (UDMIG) for an Aging Population’ by Ljilja Ruzic and Jon A. Sanford; Chapter 10, ‘Open Issues in Designing Home Care Technologies’ by Angela Di Fiore and Francesco Ceschel). Since technology which provides a medical or health benefit often falls under stricter regulatory standards in many countries, several chapters provide guidance on how mHealth can be designed to meet regulatory standards (Chapter 11, ‘mHealth, Trust and the Security of Personal Data’ by Jennifer K. Lynch and Malcolm Fisk; Chapter 12, ‘Regulation of Medical Digital Technologies’ by Eugenio Mantovani and Pedro Cristobal Bocos). While these blueprints for the design of inclusive and useful mHealth are one of the strongest contributions of the book, many other interesting chapters are also included, such as those that examine the gamification of health (Chapter 6, ‘Can Mobile Digital Games Benefit Older Adults’ Health?’ by Emmanuel Dupláa, David Kaufman, Louise Sauvé, Lisa Renaud and Alice Ireland), critical approaches to self-monitoring technology (Chapter 3, ‘mHealth and the Digital Cyborg Body: The Running Apps in a Society of Control’ by Igor Sacramento and Vanissa Wanick), and many in-depth discussions of the impacts that eHealth can have on individuals and society.

Mobile e-Health makes a strong argument for user-centred design for mHealth. While the book extols the many positive impacts that mobile eHealth can have, it also discusses how such technologies can negatively impact older adults by opening them to issues such as information overload and security concerns. The integration of these concerns (often not addressed in the literature), with proposed guidelines for developing regulatory compliant inclusive and impactful eHealth and mHealth technologies, is one of the greatest strengths of this book.

One aspect which could have been more strongly developed in this book was further examples of technologies created using the proposed guidelines and perspectives presented. While several scenarios are discussed, it would have been exciting to have more evidence of the success of integration of these perspectives in examples of mHealth. However, this presents an opportunity for researchers who are interested in mHealth to apply these guidelines to their own empirical situations, advancing the field.

This book is heartily recommended for anyone who is interested in designing mHealth, eHealth or telemedicine applications and/or services; those who are interested in implementing mHealth in their health-care population; and for those researching in the mobile or larger eHealth areas. Researchers and practitioners will find that it provides well-thought out advice on how to create eHealth that meets regulatory standards, designed with the user's needs and wants in mind. Students will find the reviews on the history of telemedicine enlightening, and as they move on in their careers, benefit from the discussions of design methodologies and regulatory standards. As the book states in the introduction, we are currently at a turning point: we have moved beyond needing to argue that telemedicine has positive impacts to needing to create safe and secure eHealth applications which seamlessly integrate into individuals’ lives. Mobile e-Health will be an important tool in creating this next iteration of eHealth.