Sima Zadeh Bedoya, PsyD
- Center for Cancer Research
- National Cancer Institute
- Building 10, Room 1C247B-10
- Bethesda, MD 20892
- 3013354604
- sima.bedoya@nih.gov
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Sima Zadeh Bedoya, Psy.D., is a pediatric clinical psychologist in the Psychosocial Support and Research Program of the Behavioral Health Core of the Pediatric Oncology Branch. As a clinician-scientist, her work focuses on providing comprehensive psychosocial support to pediatric patients and their families. Her research is focused on advance care planning and end-of-life support in adolescents and young adults, assessing distress in pediatric patients, social isolation in medically isolated patients, parental needs and coping, and sibling issues. She has played an integral role in co-developing Voicing My CHOiCES, an advanced care planning guide for adolescents and young adults, as well as Checking IN, an electronic distress screening tool. Dr. Bedoya also provides staff support both within the Pediatric Oncology Branch and the NIH Clinical Center.
Areas of Expertise
Sima Zadeh Bedoya, PsyD
Research
Dr. Zadeh Bedoya's research focuses on critical clinical issues, including: end-of-life planning in adolescents and young adults, distress screening, emotional consequences of medically required isolation, sibling donor experiences, impact of illness on parental relationships, and the psychosocial needs of bereaved parents. Additionally, the Psychosocial Support and Research Program carries out research both in support of NCI and NIH investigators and to further the field of pediatric psycho-oncology, including studies to help understand the psychosocial experiences and needs of youth living with rare diseases, including graft-versus host disease (GVHD), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).
The Psychosocial Support and Research Program is currently enrolling on the following research studies:
- Voicing My CHOiCES as a Tool for Advanced Care Planning in Young Adults with Metastatic, Recurrent, or Progressive Cancer
- Checking out Checking In: The Development of an Electronic Screening Tool for Pediatric Distress
- Pilot Study of Educational Interventions in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors to Increase Knowledge of Donation and Transplantation Procedure
NIH Scientific Focus Areas:
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Publications
- Bibliography Link
- View Dr. Bedoya's PubMed Summary
- View Dr. Zadeh's PubMed Summary
Checking IN: Development, Acceptability, and Feasibility of a Pediatric Electronic Distress Screener
Opening end-of-life discussions: How to introduce Voicing My CHOiCES™, an advance care planning guide for adolescents and young adults
Social Media Use in Pediatric Oncology: Tweets, Blogs, and Boundaries
Maintaining Competent Teams in Pediatric Oncology
Biography
Sima Zadeh Bedoya, PsyD
Dr. Zadeh Bedoya is a staff psychologist in the Psychosocial Support and Research Program of the Behavioral Health Core of the Pediatric Oncology Branch. Prior to joining the NCI in 2009, Dr. Zadeh Bedoya completed her pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology in the Pediatric Behavioral Medicine program at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Zadeh Bedoya’s early career was focused on pediatric chronic illness where she worked directly with HIV/AIDS, transplants (cardiac, renal, liver, and multi-visceral) and neurology.
Now working in the field of psycho-oncology, she has specific interests in adjustment to diagnosis/treatment, adherence, end-of-life, and bereavement. During her time with NCI, she has authored a therapeutic workbook, titled This Is My World, as well as several other therapeutic/educational resources related to social isolation in medically isolated pediatric patients, medication adherence, and bereavement. Dr. Zadeh Bedoya also co-authored an advance care planning guide for adolescents and young adults, Voicing My CHOiCES, which has been distributed worldwide and is widely used in pediatric centers, and Checking IN, an electronic distress screening tool for pediatric outpatients which is now commercially available. The Psychosocial Support and Research Program also developed and hosts a website for Pediatric Pscyho-Oncology Professionals. Dr. Zadeh Bedoya’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed scientific journals and she has also co-written book chapters. Additionally, Dr. Zadeh Bedoya has been invited to speak about her research with children, adolescents, and young adults living with cancer and their families at both national and international conferences.