Kineka J. Hull

Kineka Hull, PhD, MSPH is a public health scientist with expertise in studying youth and young adult risk behaviors, adolescent health, reproductive health, contraceptive use, and sexual abuse prevention. She has led studies focusing on comprehensive reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, healthy communication, health workforce development, and COVID-19. Dr. Hull has worked with community-based organizations, academia, and health departments on strategic planning, organizational capacity building, infrastructure/staffing needs, sustainability, and succession planning.

Since joining RTI in 2021, Dr. Hull has been a part of a team to evaluate healthcare outcomes and health service deliveries among adolescents and young adults. She provides reproductive and adolescent health training and technical assistance to youth-serving professionals and coordinates site monitoring visits for federal grantees. She also oversees an implementation strategy using peer mentors to increase awareness and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Dr. Hull hosts the Elevate Youth Programming podcast, developed by RTI and funded by the Family & Youth Services Bureau. The podcast offers thought-provoking topics, tips, and strategies to enhance youth-centered programming. 

Before joining RTI, Dr. Hull served as principal investigator for a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative–funded project that organized 13 youth-serving stakeholders and provided county-wide reproductive health education to 6^th- to 9^th-graders. This project reduced the county's teen pregnancy rate from 3^rd to 10^th in the state over 4 years. She was awarded the Lisa Clarke Bridge Builder Award for her work based on impact; establishing communication between multiple health-serving agencies; reducing health outcomes, moving best practices from theory to action; and increasing advocacy for women, children, and families. Dr. Hull also led a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) community-based intervention to increase the number of COVID-19 contact tracers and health coaches to assist with the North Carolina COVID-19 response.