Kimberly Knight is a member of the MATRix program team.
Kimberly Knight is a Disease Interventionist Specialist and Patient Navigator with the MATRix Program and a Master’s of Social Work graduate student at North Carolina Central University.
The MATRix Program is a public health program with a research component where we are looking to assess the social context, sexual behaviors, gender experiences, and healthcare service availability among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and Trans Women in North Carolina. The project is a collaborative effort with N.C. Division of Public Health, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest Baptist Health to research the dynamics of how to improve the health care process for MSM and Trans women of color.
Team members have attended community events like the Orgullo Pride Festival for LGBT Latinx, appeared as panelists for the Ignite Durham PrEP workshop with the Durham Department of Public Health, and connected with community organizations at-large. The public health program has conducted focus groups with more than 50 participants in Wake, Durham, Guilford and Forsyth counties. The focus groups welcomed participants to vocalize their thoughts on testing, prevention, public health care and partner notification. The MATRix Program seeks to identify the barriers patients are facing and provide qualitative research on how to improve the process of prevention and treatment.
One of the project’s main interests is the rising number of new cases of HIV and syphilis in the four counties mentioned. The primary group infected are MSM or Trans Women of color ages 18-35. Information regarding the HIV and syphilis cases in North Carolina are at https://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/cd/stds/figures/vol18no2.pdf. Therefore, researchers wanted to explore the experiences MSM or Trans Women of color are having when seeking testing, prevention or treatment at a public health facility. Particularly, the patient’s experience with Disease Interventionist Specialists (DIS) and how the service of partner notification has decreased transmission of sexually transmitted infections or STIs. The role of a DIS consists of informing patients of their STI test results, discussing disease progression, partner notification, risk reduction, and linking them to care treatment. The partner notification service offers free, confidential testing to the partners or those at risk of exposure to HIV and syphilis. The DIS will follow-up with the patient regarding contacting their partners and their first appointment so they can create a plan of action moving forward.
To learn more information about the MATRix Program feel free to contact me at kmk0705@med.unc.edu.