Directory

Miyamoto is an Associate Professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at The Pennsylvania State University and is the Director of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center. Miyamoto is the founder and director of the SAFE-T System, a federally- and state-funded program to enhance access to quality forensic services in underserved communities. Her research interests include the use of telehealth technology to improve sexual assault forensic care in rural communities, the use of technology and innovation to improve patient outcomes, and the identification and prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of children (trafficking) and sexual abuse. She received her Ph.D. in Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis.

Education

• PhD, Nursing Science and Health Care Leadership
  University of California Davis, Davis, CA
  Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, 2014
• MSN, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
  Family Nurse Practitioner Program, 1996
• BS, Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 1994

Awards and Honors

• American Nurses Association Innovation Award for Nurse-led Team (2025)
• Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health- Rural Health Program of the Year, The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) System (2023)
• Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2020)
• Inaugural Cohort Fellow, Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators (2020-2023)

Teaching

• Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies (CMAS 466): The Systems and Community Response to Child Maltreatment; conceptualized, designed and taught in course

Clinical Expertise and Areas of Specialization

• Child maltreatment
• Forensic Nursing
• Child, adolescent and adult sexual abuse
• Trauma-informed care
• Telehealth technology and innovation to improve sexual assault forensic care and patient outcomes

Mentorship

• Number of MSN, DNP, or PhD students advised (current and graduated): 19
• Number of Postdoctoral researchers mentored: 1

Research

Research Interests and Areas of Expertise

• The use of telehealth technology to improve sexual assault forensic care in rural communities, the use of technology and innovation to improve patient outcomes

Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Improvement Projects

• Founder and Principal Investigator, Sexual Assault Forensic Examination – Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center

Presentations and Conference Involvement

• 2/2025: American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Baltimore, MD, “Enhancing equitable access to quality forensic sexual assault care: The SAFE-T System Telehealth Model”, (podium)
• 01/2025: Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) Advisory Board meeting, “Compassionate Trauma Care: Exploring the SAFE-T System”, Invited Presenter
• 10/2024: 2024 Pennsylvania Rural Human Trafficking Summit, “SAFE-T System: Equitable Access to Quality Sexual Assault Care”, Invited Presenter
• 9/2024: Utah Chapter International Assoc. of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) Annual Education conference, “SAFE-T System: Equitable Access to Quality Sexual Assault Care”, Invited Virtual Presenter
• 9/2024: Administration Committee on Research (ACOR) Annual Penn State Retreat, University Park, PA, “SAFE-T System: Equitable access to quality sexual assault care”, (virtual session presenter)
• 8/2024: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Uppsala, Sweden, “Innovations and Collaborations to improve rural access to sexual assault care,” (podium)
• 8/2023: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Edinborough, Scotland, “Implementing a new standard for sexual abuse care,” (podium)
• 7/2023: Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association, “Improving Access to Expert Care for Victims of Violence: Impact on Justice Outcomes”, Invited Presenter
• 5/2023: Translating Research to Innovations in Practice, University Park, PA “Implementing a new standard of sexual assault care,” (keynote presenter)
• 4/2023: Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) Women’s Resource Center (WRC) Conference, “Providing Expert Sexual Assault Care to Underserved or Rural Victims of Sexual Violence in Their Own Communities: The Sexual Assault Forensic Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center”, Invited Presenter
• 9/2022: International Association of Forensic Nurses, Dallas, TX, “Show me the money! Business models and legislation to sustain sexual assault care models” (podium)
• 8/2022: Hospital + Healthcare Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), “Improving Care for Victims of Sexual Assault”, Invited panelist. SAFE-T sponsorship of live webinar event.
• 6/2022: The Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International, Durham, NC, “Patient experience with sexual assault telehealth forensic examinations,” (virtual session presenter)
• 3-4/2022: Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS), “What individuals want to hear at the point of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) diagnosis,” (co-podium with PhD advisee)
• 10/2021: Rural Health Redesign Provider Workgroup for the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, “The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center,” Presenter
• 4/2021: Futures Without Violence, National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence, virtual event, “Health systems responses to violence and abuse: Opportunities and barriers for innovation,” (co-virtual podium)
• 2/2021: Faculty XChange, “SAFE-T System: Enhancing access to quality sexual assault care,” Virtual presenter
• 10/2020: Otsego Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect 34th Annual Conference: Dynamics of Sex Trafficking: Impact on Children, “Understanding the Dynamics: Research and Best Practices”, Invited Keynote Presenter
• 9/2020: Department of Justice, Patent and Trademark Office, Promoting Innovation in the Life Science Sector and Supporting Pro-Competitive Collaboration: The Role of Intellectual Property Conference, “Collaboration and Licensing Strategies”, Invited Panelist
• 9/2020: International Association of Forensic Nurses Technical Assistance Training, “Research and Evaluation”
• 6/2020: (conference cancelled due to Covid-19) Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, Boston, MA, “Evaluation of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth Center (SAFE–T) in Rural Communities: The Implementation Phase” (poster)
• 4/2020: (conference cancelled due to Covid-19) Futures Without Violence, National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence, Chicago, IL, “The sex”.

Research Funding and Grants

• 07/2021-06/2027
  “The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center for Advancement of SANE Workforce”.Sheridan Miyamoto, Principal Investigator.Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) $3,000,000 ($1,500,000, 2021-2024; Continuation $1,500,000, 2024-2027)
  Award#: HRSA-21-016This funding was awarded to implement and sustain the Center for SANE Workforce Advancement (based on the successful SAFE-T Center model) to comprehensively train teams of SANE nurses in rural and underserved areas with demonstrated deficits in sexual assault response, to deliver telehealth sexual assault consultation to partner communities, and to employ methods aimed at workforce growth, retention, and long-term program sustainability.
• 07/2024-07/2025
  Pediatric Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Program – Increasing Equitable Access to Quality Sexual Abuse Care in Rural and Underserved Communities.Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute Bridges to Translation, $50,000.This project will translate SAFE-T’s manualized, evidence-based, community-engaged approach to bring expert pediatric sexual abuse care to underserved communities to address inequities in the availability of quality child sexual abuse care. SAFE-T will develop an expert pediatric teleSANE team and engage community partners to create a program tailored to build on community strengths and needs. Simultaneously, we will develop a generalizable, sustainable business model for sexual assault telehealth specialty care to ensure that solutions are available and accessible for communities that do not have this expertise.
• 04/2023-04/2028
  “Penn State University’s Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies”. PI Jennie Noll; Sheridan Miyamoto, Principal Investigator, Project 2, “Impact of Telehealth on Adolescent Forensic Sexual Abuse Examinations”2 P50 HD089922-06; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development$16,892,839; Award#:2 P50 HD089922-06, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentThe Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Adolescent Evaluation is a multi-site (rural and urban) study designed to evaluate the impact of the SAFE-T model on adolescent care quality, healthcare and advocacy service utilization, health and well-being, and prosecutorial decision-making. This represents the most comprehensive evaluation of telehealth to improve SA access and quality of care for adolescents. The findings will elucidate the influence of forensic SA telehealth consultation on care quality, health and well-being, and resolution of trauma to support a healthy transition to adulthood.
• 1/2023-12/2025
  “Telehealth Equitable Access Model for Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (TEAM SAFE)”Sheridan Miyamoto, Principal InvestigatorThe Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation- Hillman Innovations in Care $600,000 Award#: A-2985This funding allows for an adaptation of our successful community-based SAFE-T program to provide expert SANE-led care to rural hospitals that are unable to maintain a local SANE-trained workforce. The program will provide secure, telehealth forensic technology and expert nurse consultation to untrained providers. Implementing and evaluating the impact of SAFE-T in the most remote, under-resourced hospitals will provide important information that will be used to effectively scale and sustain programs so that all hospitals in need, regardless of volume and resources, can readily deliver high-quality, trauma-informed care to victims in their own communities.

COMPLETED RESEARCH SUPPORT:

• 10/2020-10/2023
  “Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center Campus Community Collaborative”Sheridan Miyamoto, Principal InvestigatorU.S Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Award#: OV

Publications and Scholarly Work

• Miyamoto, S., Delwiche, J., Mareboina, M.*, & Lewis-O’Connor, A. (in production). Forensic Health Care Response to IPV. In C. Mitchell & D. Anglin (Eds.), Intimate Partner Violence: A Health-Based Perspective (10th ed., pp. xx – xx). Oxford Academic.
• Walsh, S., Simmons, Z., Miyamoto, S., & Geronimo, A. (2025). A nurse coaching intervention to improve support to individuals living with ALS. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 26(1-2), 22-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2024.2399154
• Boakye, M.D.S.*, Miyamoto, S., Greenwood, D., Boltz, M., Kraschnewski, J., & Van Haitsma, K. (2024). Dear health care professional: What people need and want when diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Clinical Diabetes, 43(1), 148-155. https://doi.org/10.2337/cd23-0105
• Miyamoto, S., Delwiche, J., Mareboina, M.*, Hur, Y.S., & Greninger, E. (2024). Acceptability of forensic sexual assault telehealth consultation. Telemedicine and e-Health, (Epub ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2024.0461
• Williams, J.P., Downing, N., & Miyamoto, S. (2024). The Purpose, Process, and Advancement of Forensic Nursing Standards. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 20(3), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000488
• Miyamoto, S., Shipe, S.*, Delwiche, J., Richardson, C., Veerhusen, K., & Bittner, C. (2024). Meeting complex needs of sexually assaulted incarcerated individuals: Impact of expert Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner care via telehealth. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 30(1), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.1089/jchc.23.03.0015
• Miyamoto, S., Bittner, C., Delwiche, J., & Ganguli, A.* (2024). A strengths and needs assessment of campus sexual assault response. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 20(1), 3-11. Doi: 10.1097/JFN.0000000000000452
• Wright, E. N.*, Miyamoto, S., & Anderson, J. (2024). “Having one person tell me I didn’t do the wrong thing”: The impact of support on the post-sexual assault exam experience. Violence Against Women, 30(10), 2721-2742. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231156153
• Miyamoto, S., & Downing, N. R. (2023). Leveraging telehealth to address Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner access disparities in rural communities. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 19(4), 231-239. https://doi.org/10.1097/jfn.0000000000000431
• Miyamoto, S., Wright, E. N.*, Thiede, E.*, Perkins, D. F., & Dorn, L. (2023). Multidisciplinary perspectives on the implementation of a comprehensive Sexual Assault Telehealth program in rural communities: A qualitative study. Violence Against Women, 30(10), 2674-2696. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231159413
• Boakye, M.*, Miyamoto, S. & Greenwood, D. (2023). What individuals want to hear at the point of Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. Clin Diabetes, 41(1), 110-119. https://doi.org/10.2337/cd21-0151
• Boakye, M. D. S.*, Miyamoto, S., Greenwood, D., Kraschnewski, J., Van Haitsma, K., & Boltz, M. (2023). Pathway from Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis to action: How to move people forward. Diabetes Spectrum, 36(3), 264-274. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds22-0058
• Boakye, M. D. S.*, Miyamoto, S., Greenwood, D., Van Haitsma, K., Boltz, M., & Kraschnewski, D. (2023). Remodeling Type 2 diabetes diagnosis: What individuals need for success. Clin Diabetes, 41(2), 273-285. https://doi.org/10.2337/cd22-0075
• Guastaferro, K., Felt, J. M., Font, S. A., Connell, C. M., Miyamoto, S., Zadzora, K. M., & Noll, J. G. (2022). Parent-focused sexual abuse prevention: Results from a cluster randomized trial. Child Maltreatment, 27(1), 114-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559520963870
• Miyamoto, S., Thiede, E.*, Richardson, C., Wright. E. N.*, & Bittner, C. (2022). Pathway to healing and recovery: Alleviation of survivor worries in sexual assault nurse examiner-led sexual assault telehealth examinations. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 48(6), 709-718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2022.06.005
• Wright, E. N.*, Anderson, J., Phillips, K., & Miyamoto, S. (2022). Help-seeking and barriers to car

Editorial and Peer Review Roles

• 2023: American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) Research Small Grant Category (1)
• 2020-2022: IAFN Research Grant
• 2021: Grace Woodward Collaborative Research Grants in Engineering and Medicine
• 2020-2022: Social Science Research Institute (3)

Service

Community and Policy Engagement

• In my role as faculty in the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and Director of the SAFE-T Center, there has been opportunity to produce research that can stimulate policy change, allocation of resources, and additional investment in promising practices to better identify and provide services to victims of violence and abuse.

Download Miyamoto’s Curriculum Vitae »
Last updated 8/5/2025