African American women tend to have lower attendance rates at cervical cancer screenings compared to the attendance rates of women from other ethnic groups. The purpose of this research project was to understand how perceptions of African American women affects attendance of future cervical cancer screenings. The goal was to understand what contributes to low attendance. Previous research did not focus on factors contributing or interfering with appointment attendance among African American women, aged 30-65. The conceptual framework was based on individual health behavior. The research questions examined lived experiences affecting attendance of cervical cancer screenings, attendance of future screenings, and perceptions of experiences. Data collection was based on a phenomenological approach. Open-ended questions were used to gather descriptions of 5 participants' experiences via telephone interviews. These interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for recurring themes and patterns. Findings revealed 3 emergent themes related to the attendance of screenings: being knowledgeable of the purpose of cervical cancer screening, a female examiner performing the screening, and the encouragement of family and friends. The implications for social change would be increased knowledge among African American women aged 30-65 and the medical community.

An improved working model at the daily activity center. An improvement work and a qualitative study on the perception of professionals on motivating participants with high-functioning autism to attend daily activities. Despite daily activities efforts to contribute to personal development, through offering meaningful activities, attendance among participants with high-functioning autism is low as those who have been granted the decision do not fully attend. This increases the likelihood of social isolation. In the absence of evidence-based working methods, the improvement team tested whether modifying the ordinary model would increase participants' attendance. This was through incorporating a model called Step Out. Step Out’s five components focused on increasing participants' motivation, by the professionals seeing the big picture, actively creating trust, working with solution-focused methods, and using motivational interviews. Four participants with low attendance were selected to take part in the intervention. The improvement work was conducted at a daily activity center in a small city in Sothern Sweden. The improvement work aimed to understand why the attendance of participants was low and to increase participant attendance through Step Out. The study aimed to gain an understanding of the professionals' perception of working with Step Out in the improvement work. The study was conducted through a qualitative study with five individual interviews and where the self-determination theory formed the basis for the analysis of professionals' perceptions. The results indicate that the smart goal to double the average attendance of the participants during the intervention was achieved in two participants but was not achieved in the other two participants. In addition, six reasons were shared by the participants on why they did not attend their daily activities. The professionals perceived that Step Out had given them new tools to strengthen the participant's autonomy, competence, and sense of belonging. Structural barriers were perceived as the greatest hindrance to the implementation of Step Out. In conclusion, participants are individuals with unique skills and interests, and professionals at the daily activity center must use an individualized approach.  Keywords: low-attendance, motivation, self-determination theory, Step Out / Ett förbättrat arbetssätt på dagligverksamheten. Ett förbättringsarbete samt en kvalitativ studie om de professionellas uppfattning om att motivera deltagarna med högfungerande autism att delta på daglig verksamhet. Trots Daglig verksamhets goda intentioner att bidra till personlig utveckling och främja delaktighet i samhället genom att erbjuda meningsfull sysselsättning, är närvaron bland deltagarna med högfungerande autism låg eftersom de som beviljats insatser inte deltar fullt ut.  Detta ökar risken för social isolering.  I brist på evidens-baserade arbetsmetoder testade förbättringsteamet att modifiera den ordinarie arbetsmodellen genom att införliva en modell som heter Kliv Ut.  Kliv Ut bestod av fem delar vars fokus låg på att öka deltagarnas motivation. Detta till dels genom att personalen skaffade sig en mer komplett bild av deltagaren, delvist genom ett aktivt skapande av initialt förtroende hos deltagarna, delvist lösningsfokuserade arbetsmetoder samt motiverande samtal. Fyra deltagarna med låg närvaro valdes ut för att delta i interventionen. Förbättringsarbetet genomfördes på en dagligverksamhet i en mindre stad i södra Sverige. Syftet med förbättringsarbetet var att förstå varför deltagarnas närvaro var låg och att öka närvaron med modellen Kliv Ut. Syftet med studien var att förstå de professionellas uppfattningar om att arbeta med Kliv Ut under förbättringsarbetet. Studien genomfördes genom en kvalitativstudie med fem enskilda intervjuer där självbestämmande teori utgjorde underlag för analys av de professionellas uppfattningar av Kliv Ut.  Resultaten visade att SMART-målet att fördubbla deltagarnas genomsnittliga närvaro under interventionsperioden uppnåddes för två av deltagarna men inte hos två. Dessutom identifierades sex grundläggande orsaker till att deltagarna inte deltog i sina dagliga aktiviteter. De professionella uppfattade att Kliv Ut hade gett dem nya verktyg att stärka deltagarnas autonomi, kompetens och tillhörighet. Strukturella barriär identifierades av de professionella som det största hindret att genomföra Kliv Ut.  Sammanfattningsvis betraktas deltagarna som individer med unika färdigheter och personliga intressen varför de som arbetar på dagligverksamheten behöver använda ett genomgående individanpassat tillvägagångssätt.   Nyckelord: låg närvaro, motivation, självbestämmande teori, kliv ut

The dissertation focuses on the parental attitudes about education of their children during transition from pre-primary to primary education. The study focused on families without identified socio-economic disadvantage whose children were not enrolled in kindergarten. The research design was a longitudinal multiple case study of seven families located in the Liberec region. Data was gathered at multiple points during the children's transition from the kindergarten to primary school. The study focused on the reasons that led parents gave for deciding that their children would either participate in non-regular pre-primary education within nursery schools or not attend the pre-primary classes at all. The study inquired about: parents' general attitudes about pre-primary education; their views on the right educational path for their children; and their self-reported approach to their children's overall development. The study also examined the parents' feelings about the introduction of an obligatory pre-school year and their process of making the enrollment decisions. The results showed that although these families did have some common characteristics, the reasons given for opting not let their children attend preschool, were diverse. Mothers of these children were passionate about doing what's best...