Carol E. Ferrans, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Harriet H. Werley Endowed Chair in Nursing Research College of Nursing
BIRCWH Mentor
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About
Dr. Carol Ferrans’ research addresses quality of life outcomes and health disparities, primarily in breast cancer. She is known internationally for the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI), translated into 21 languages and published in 400 studies. To address the fact that African Americans were dying of breast cancer at twice the rate of Caucasians in Chicago, Dr. Ferrans launched a community-based outreach program funded by NIH. This program reached more than 8,500 African American women, changing beliefs and increasing screening in Southside communities with the highest death rates. As a founder of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, Dr. Ferrans led the effort to increase equitable access to mammography, writing a major portion of the Task Force report. This report produced the Illinois Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities Act, to improve access to screening and mammography quality throughout the state. Since the founding of the Task Force, mortality rates for black women have decreased 13.87% in Chicago, more than any other major U.S. city during that period. Dr. Ferrans served as the Director/Co-Director of the UIC Center of Excellence in Eliminating Disparities, Director of the Policy and Dissemination Core for the UIC Center for Population Health and Health Disparities, and the Director of the Community Engagement and Research Core of the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Currently, Dr. Ferrans serves on the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors.
Notable Honors
2015-2021, Board of Scientific Advisors, National Cancer Institute (NIH)
2014, International Researcher Hall of Fame, Sigma Theta Tau, International
2016, Lifetime Achievement Award, Midwest Nursing Research Society
2008, Distinguished Researcher of the year, Oncology Nursing Society (national)