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Semra Ozdemir

Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences

Overview


Dr. Ozdemir is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Duke University and is affiliated with Duke Clinical Research Institute. She also holds a joint appointment at the Signature Programme in Health Services and Systems Research at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. Dr. Ozdemir’s research focuses on three areas of medical decision making: 1) assessing individuals’ preferences and values for healthcare services and products, 2) understanding the medical decision-making process among patients, their family caregivers, and clinicians, and 3) developing decision aids or tools to help individuals make better-informed medical decisions. She uses survey methods, cohort studies, and implementation science principles to conduct research in these areas.

Dr. Ozdemir is an expert in shared decision-making tools and stated-preference methods, such as discrete choice experiments and best-worst scaling. Dr. Ozdemir led a large team of health communication and decision science experts and clinicians in the development of an educational and preference-based decision aid for older patients with end-stage kidney disease who are considering dialysis or kidney supportive care. She is an Associate Editor for Value in Health and has served on the editorial boards for Medical Decision Making and Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. She is also the co-chair of the Shared Decision Making Special Interest Group for the Society for Medical Decision Making.

Dr. Ozdemir loves running, paddling, traveling, and cheering for her sons in their soccer games and bike races.

Areas of expertise: Medical decision making, shared decision making, health preference assessment, stated-preference methods, discrete choice experiment, decision aid research.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences · 2023 - Present Population Health Sciences, Basic Science Departments
Member in the Duke Clinical Research Institute · 2023 - Present Duke Clinical Research Institute, Institutes and Centers
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2025 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

Recent Publications


Unlocking Patient Preferences: The Potential of Stated-Preference Methods in Clinical Decision Making.

Journal Article Value Health · January 2026 Stated-preference (SP) methods are gaining attention as tools to support patient-centered clinical decision making by quantifying individual preferences through structured tradeoffs. These methods may improve shared decision making by helping patients and ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Anxiety, Depression and Bereavement Adjustment: A Prospective Study of Informal Caregivers of Terminal Cancer Patients.

Journal Article Psychooncology · November 2025 OBJECTIVE: Informal caregivers of patients with terminal cancer can experience an emotionally difficult time in the final stages of their caregiving journey with implications on their bereavement experience. The current study examined anxiety and depressio ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


State reproductive health policy as a determinant for maternal health

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030

Quantifying Patient Preference Information in Small-Scale Studies for Regulatory Decision Making

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Food and Drug Administration · 2025 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2013 Ph.D.