RESEARCH

Featured Researchers | Sharing What We Learn

Each Quarter HCC sponsors community educational workshops that provide timely information to support university/community partnerships, improve partnership skills and enhance organizational capacity. An added feature of these events is the "Sharing What We Have learned through Research" session where researchers who have completed their work are invited to share their findings in a consumer friendly manner. Presentations are concluded with time for questions about the relevancy of the results and how the findings can applied in community settings. Researcher receive feedback that may guide future research efforts. Information about the featured researcher and the "take-Away" summary is presented on this page.

Carol Ferrans, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor, UIC College of Nursing
Deputy Director, UIC Center for Population Health & Health Disparities
Dr. Ferrans is a recognized expert in quality-of-life issues in health care. She is well known for the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index, which was first published in 1985, is available in 12 languages, and has been used in more than 18 countries. Dr. Ferrans maintains an active program of research, studying the effects of illness and treatment on quality of life in cancer, cardiac disease, and other chronic illnesses. Dr. Ferrans' work also has focused on cross-cultural assessment of quality of life, including approaches to increasing data validity and research participation for minority populations in the United States. Her research has been funded by NCI and the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR), and she has received a number of awards for her work.

Current Research Projects
Quality of Life of African American Cancer Survivors
Breast Cancer Delay in Black, Hispanic, and White Women
Reducing Disparities in Underserved Populations (Co-I)
Psychometric Testing of a Measure of Family Functioning (Co-I)
Interactive Cancer Screening Education for South Asians (Co-I)
Cognitive Testing of the Computerized PAINReportIt Program in Adult African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and European Americans (Co-I)
GO EARLY: Promoting Mammography Use Among Korean American Women (Co-I)
Breast Cancer Delay in Black, Hispanic, and White Women (PI)
Advanced Care Treatment Plans (ACT-Plan) for African American Family Caregivers (Co-I)