Specialty

Child Abuse Pediatrics

Organization

Rady Children's Specialists of San Diego

Medical Group / IPA

CPMG/RCHN/RCSSD

Medical School

Medical College of Virginia

Internship

Virginia Commonwealth University GME

Residency

Virginia Commonwealth University GME

Fellowship

University of Texas Health Science Center

Board Certifications

Child Abuse Pediatrics, Pediatrics

Gender

F

Bio

Dr. Shalon Nienow is Section Chief of Child Abuse Pediatrics at Rady Children’s Hospital, the Medical Director at the Chadwick Center for Children and Families, an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego, and Division Chief of Child Abuse Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

As a child abuse pediatrician, Dr. Nienow provides medical evaluations for children who are alleged victims of all forms of child abuse/neglect. Dr. Nienow frequently serves as an expert witness in civil and criminal legal proceedings related to all aspects of child maltreatment.

Dr. Nienow has conducted research in patterns of disclosure in child sexual abuse and methods of testing for sexually transmitted infections in children and has co-authored publications on both topics. Dr Nienow serves as the co-chair of the Rady Children’s Hospital Medical Child Welfare Committee which is a novel program designed to recognize and respond to medical overutilization, vulnerable child syndrome, and medical child abuse. She was a co-author of a paper published in Pediatrics regarding this approach. She regularly provides trainings to various members of the multidisciplinary team.

Dr. Nienow is the editor for the AAP’s newest PREP curriculum on Child Abuse & Neglect, served on the ABP content development team for Maintenance of Certification for the Child Abuse Sub-Board, and is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Helfer Society. In addition, she was chosen to serve as a subject matter consultant for the 2021 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines section regarding Sexual Assault or Abuse of Children.

Areas of professional interest include starvation and torture, abusive burn patterns, psychological maltreatment, medical child abuse, disclosure patterns and sexually transmitted infections.

Publications

Evaluating Outcomes of Nonaccidental Trauma in Military Children

Joskowitz, K., Patwardhan, U. M., Floan, G. M., Heflinger, M., Cruz, S., David, M., ... & Ignacio, R. C. (2023). Evaluating outcomes of nonaccidental trauma in military children. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 10-1097.

Application of a Machine Learning Algorithm in Prediction of Abusive Head Trauma in Children

Jadhav, P., Sears, T., Floan, G., Joskowitz, K., Nienow, S., Cruz, S., ... & Ignacio, R. C. (2024). Application of a machine learning algorithm in prediction of abusive head trauma in children. Journal of pediatric surgery, 59(1), 80-85.

Medical Child Welfare Task Force: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Identifying Medical Child Abuse

Vega, S., Nienow, S. M., Huang, M. Z., & Stover, L. B. (2023). Medical Child Welfare Task Force: a multidisciplinary approach to identifying medical child abuse. Pediatrics, 151(2), e2022058926.

Perspective: child abuse in the military

Rooks V, Wood, JR, Hamele MT, Farnsworth GM, Nienow SM. Perspective: Child abuse in the Military. Pediatric Radiology. 2021 May, 51 (6): 883-890.

Factors that prevent, prompt, and delay disclosures in female victims of child sexual abuse
Kellogg ND, Koek W, Nienow SM

Genital and Extragenital Gonorrhea and Chlamydia in Children and Adolescents Evaluated for Sexual Abuse
Kellogg ND, Melville JD, Lukefahr, JL, Nienow, SM, Russell EL

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