In a report entitled, The Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) 2006 Annual Report on Hip and Knee Replacements in Canada released on October 25, 2006, the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that even after accounting for population changes and aging, there was an 87% increase in hip and knee replacements over a 10-year period from 1995 to 2005. What are the factors that are contributing to this phenomenon?

• Margaret Keresteci, Canadian Institute for Health Information’s manager of Clinical Registries