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Purpose: As pandemic-related mistrust of public health recommendations in rural communities may compound gaps in pediatric immunizations, our team explored parents' perceptions of trustworthiness in messaging., Design: Qualitative study using 4 virtual focus groups., Setting: Rural Wisconsin., Participants: Participants (n = 25) were parents or guardians of children recruited through our contacts with community-based organizations serving rural communities., Methods: Researchers used task-oriented elicitation techniques to initiate discussion on the trustworthiness of messengers and messages providing health recommendations. Participants were asked to (1) review existing public health messaging on a range of topics and from a range of sponsors; and (2) rank a list of potential messengers in terms of trustworthiness (eg, local health department, Centers for Disease Control). Discussions were recorded, and audio files transcribed, to facilitate a team-based, thematic analysis., Results: Competency in medical knowledge and parenting experience contributed to estimations of trustworthiness. Participants also responded well to messages and messengers that were able to project recognition of their children's uniqueness and their experience as parents. Participants distrusted messengers who were seen as biased or "one-sided" in their perspectives., Conclusions: For successful health promotion for rural-living parents, messengers must be recognized as "competent" to provide pediatric health advice and to avoid blanket recommendations that may undermine parents' experience and feelings of being "understood" and affect perceptions of trustworthiness., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: The introduction of hybrid DRGs on 1 January 2024 is intended to create incentives to perform inpatient urology services, e.g., ureterorenoscopy (URS), on an outpatient basis. The effects on the reality of care are currently unclear., Objectives: The aim of the survey was to gather an opinion on the introduction of hybrid DRGs in urology and to analyze initial practical experiences and future prospects., Materials and Methods: In a Germany-wide online survey conducted between May and July 2024, 32 questions were asked about patient care, further training and other indications, among other things. In addition, an assessment of the outpatient potential for URS for ureteral and kidney stones and hydrocele resections was requested., Results: A total of 364 urologists responded to the survey: 54.5% were in private practice and 45.5% worked in hospitals. 91.1% were active surgeons. The concept of hybrid DRGs was rated positively by 34% of those working in surgery, but 68% saw no relief in their everyday work. 51% expressed concerns about the negative impact on further training. The proportion of URS performed on an outpatient basis in 2023 was 21% (ureteral stones) and 11% (kidney stones), with a long-term potential increase of up to 33%. Two thirds of hydrocele resections were already performed on an outpatient basis, and 74% of respondents considered these to be billable in a hybrid DRG., Conclusion: The survey shows a differentiated opinion on hybrid DRGs in urology, but the sample only comprises around 6% of urologists in Germany. It would make sense to repeat the survey at a later date in order to evaluate developments in practical use., Competing Interests: Einhaltung ethischer Richtlinien. Interessenkonflikt: P. Reimold, C. Groeben, A. Borkowetz, N. Eisenmenger, F. König, M. Leitsmann, U. Witzsch, M. Müller, M. Schöne, D. Schultz-Lampel, M. Fisch, P. Kollenbach, A. Schneider, J. Westphal, H. Borchers, A. Belusa, M.S. Michel, B. Volkmer und J. Huber geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht. Für diesen Beitrag wurden von den Autor/-innen keine Studien an Menschen oder Tieren durchgeführt. Für die aufgeführten Studien gelten die jeweils dort angegebenen ethischen Richtlinien., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background and Purpose: Given the accepted multistep process of disease causation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the present study was undertaken to determine the number of steps required for disease onset across each of the ALS phenotypes., Methods: Clinical and demographic data were prospectively accumulated using the Australian Motor Neurone Disease Registry (2005-2016), and age-specific incidence rates were calculated. Poisson regression was utilized to assess the relationship between log age-specific incidence and log age of onset, with McFadden's R 2 used to assess the goodness of fit of the model., Results: In total, 2647 ALS patients were included, with mean disease-onset age being 62.2 ± 12.1 years. A linear relationship between log incidence and log age was established across ALS phenotypes, with variable slope estimates: bulbar 5.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.6-5.6); cervical 2.7 (95% CI 2.3-3.0); lumbar 3.5 (95% CI 3.2-3.9); flail arm 4.7 (95% CI 3.9-5.5); flail leg 3.6 (95% CI 2.6-4.5); primary lateral sclerosis 2.7 (95% CI 1.8-3.7). Slope estimates were significantly higher in the bulbar compared to the cervical, lumbar and primary lateral sclerosis phenotypes. McFadden's R 2 values were >0.4 for all phenotypes indicating excellent model fit., Discussion: A multistep process has been established across all ALS phenotypes with variable slope estimates, suggesting that the number of steps to develop disease is different across clinical presentations. Identification of mechanisms underlying slope estimate variability could exert pathophysiological significance., (© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)