Katherine Barnett

Dr. Kathy Barnett is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Kennesaw State University, dedicated to nursing, research, and education. Barnett’s research is focused on substance use disorders, sexual assault nursing, human trafficking, and women’s health nursing. Barnett and colleagues have received grant funding from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) and the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust to implement a curriculum on medications for opioid use disorder into the master’s program for nurse practitioners and to provide care to vulnerable members of the community. In 2023, Barnett and colleagues received funding from the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) to research improving DNA collection techniques during a forensic exam. Finally, in 2023, Barnett and colleagues received funding from Cobb Douglas Public Health CHIP grant to support the education and training of sexual assault nurses, helping decrease the shortage of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) in Georgia. In addition to her research, Barnett has spent 25 years as a nurse caring for women during their pregnancy, labor, and birth. For the last ten years, Barnett continued to share her love of women’s health as a nurse educator at Kennesaw State University, coordinating the parent-child nursing course. Barnett is a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and has mobilized medical responses to human trafficking operations across the state of Georgia.