2023 Department of Pediatrics Academic Annual Report

Child Abuse Pediatrics

PEDIATRIC FACULTY

Dr. Michael Taylor....................................................Director | Professor Dr. David Bernard.................................................................Professor Dr. Kara Huls.........................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Ashley Hodges................................................Nurse Practitioner Elizabeth Schlappi................................................Nurse Practitioner

FEATURED RESEARCH

Michael Taylor, M.D., is the principal investigator for the following two ongoing studies:

• Screening for nonviral sexually transmitted infections in children being evaluated for sexual abuse: a comparison of nucleic acid amplification tests vs. culture and wet preparations. Aim: To evaluate the performance of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to detect infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and/or Trichomonas vaginalis in children being evaluated for possible sexual abuse in comparison to culture and wet preparation slides (vaginal). Methods: Patient population: All children under 18 years of age who were seen for an examination due to concerns for possible sexual abuse at the Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS) Center and all children under 18 years of age seen by the Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) nurses in the Children’s of Alabama emergency department during a four-year period from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2017. Aim: This project surveys child abuse medical providers in all 50 US States, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. Information obtained from the proposed surveys will be used to demonstrate to potential funding agencies in Alabama what other states have done to develop and/or maintain a medical system for child abuse. We intend to share the child abuse medical network information obtained by this project with the participants who choose to receive it. The database would also serve as a valuable resource across the country to help primary healthcare providers direct potential victims of child maltreatment to the appropriate networks of medical providers specifically trained to care for such individuals. • Child Abuse Medical Systems Survey 2019 to Present Kara Huls, M.D., is a member of the Board of Directors for the Crisis Center of Birmingham, a rape response center serving Central Alabama. In January 2023, Drs. Kara Huls and Ashley Hodges received the inaugural Outstanding Victim Protection in Countering Human Trafficking award by the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) within the US Department of Homeland Security. CCHT recognized Dr. Huls and Dr. Hodges and other members of Birmingham’s Counter-Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), which includes law enforcement officers, judicial officials, attorneys of the district attorney’s office, and other service providers working together to improve detection and care of trafficking survivors and increased accountability for perpetrators. Birmingham’s MDT has been recognized as a national model for addressing child trafficking. EXTRAMURAL AWARDS & LEADERSHIP ROLES

2023 Academic Annual Report

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