Thanks very much for the question.
All of us are aging. That is a good thing. The alternative is not preferred.
As we age, in many ways the challenges do increase. In terms of falls or aging, a number of things can be done. In some ways it's actually quite simple. A lot of the falls are based on declining vision, throw rugs, tripping in the home, etc. It can be from not clearing sidewalks, or from not having smooth transitions on stairs; suddenly you can't see the edges of stairs. Simply having strips on stairs can tell you where the edge is.
There are a lot of things that are fairly simple, so education is part of the answer. Partly it's also the municipalities and others, in terms of creating age-friendly communities--not just for the aged, but for all ages--that provide access and movement and exercise and all of these things that make for a healthy outcome.
In Vancouver on March 22 and March 23 there will be the first-ever conference on seniors' falls prevention. It is being sponsored by us. As well, we have been involved in the development of the award-winning Canadian falls prevention curriculum initiative. There are also e-learning issues. In 2005 we had our report on seniors' falls, and we plan to update it next year.
There is also my report this year on the state of public health. Each year has a theme, and this year's theme will be seniors. Clearly falls prevention is one very important aspect, and it is something that we've demonstrated we can do something about. It takes a little thought and effort. It's not expensive, though, and it can make a huge difference to quality of life.