Accessibility Skip to Global Navigation Skip to Local Navigation Skip to Content Skip to Search Skip to Site Map Menu

Associate Professor Maria Stubbe

Associate Professor & Research Leader

Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice 

Background and Interests

M Stubbe 2018-01

Maria Stubbe is a social scientist with expertise in qualitative health research, interactional sociolinguistics and the study of professional communication. She has worked in the Department as a health researcher since 2003 and joined the permanent staff as senior lecturer and research director in 2008. Maria is a founding member and co-director of the Applied Research on Communication in Health (ARCH) Group, and is a member of the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee (Health.)

She has a PhD in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington where she worked as a researcher and lecturer in sociolinguistics/applied linguistics from 1989 to 2003. She was in the team that constructed the New Zealand English section of the International Corpus of English, and was a senior researcher on the NZ Language in the Workplace Project (LWP) from 1996-2003, and continuing since then as an honorary Research Associate. She is the New Zealand national representative on the Advisory Committee of EACH, The International Association for Communication in Healthcare. 

Her current research focuses on various aspects of communication in health settings (especially the detailed study of patient-provider interactions using conversation analysis, and research into patient experiences of health and illness), along with projects on health service delivery, research ethics and clinical education. She has particular experience in multidisciplinary and qualitative research, and has published widely in the fields of sociolinguistics, workplace language, health communication and health services research.

Maria is also the Research Leader within the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice. 

Teaching Activities

Higher degrees

  • Supervision of PhD and Masters projects

Postgraduate diploma courses

  • Co-convenor HASC 417/817 Health Sciences Research Methods (Diploma/Masters course)
  • Convenor GENA735 Supporting Healthier Lifestyles: Challenging Conversations (Diploma in Primary Health Care course)
  • Guest lectures/professional development workshops on health communication, qualitative research, discourse analysis.
  • Postgraduate Study Skills – convenor academic writing workshop

Undergraduate medical education

  • Resource development and tutoring/lecturing in consultation skills, reflective practice, experiences of addiction and recovery, use of interpreters

Research Activities

Maria's research is based primarily in the multidisciplinary Applied Research on Communication in Health (ARCH) Group. She co-directs a programme of research into communication in clinical practice and patient experiences using data from video recordings of authentic interactions between health professionals and patients, recorded interviews and documents. Since 2003 she has also led the development of the ARCH Corpus, a digitized permanent collection of New Zealand health interactions and associated data for use in research and education.

In her previous role as the department’s Research Director, Maria chaired the research committee which took a strategic overview of research in the department. She supported the development and implementation of a wide range of projects relating to primary health care, and continues to be actively engaged in several health services and educational research projects.

Current projects

Principal Investigator:

  • Diabetes Stories. Understanding the lived experience of people with diabetes in NZ: a narrative inquiry (2014-ongoing) 
  • ‘When you’re 85, then I’ll call you old’: Age and identity in health care interactions (2016-ongoing) 
  • Designing a permanent digital repository for health communication research data (2016 – ongoing)

Co-investigator:

  • General Practitioners, Patients and Conversations about Chronic Pain (2016-2018)
  • Evaluation of Compass Health Project – Weight Management Support in Primary Care (2018)
  • The Art of Deception: Study Habits, Assessment and Moral Integrity in Medical School (2017-2018)
  • Observing Communication in 'High Risk' Ante-Natal Consultations: Developing a Model of Shared Understanding (2016-ongoing) 
  • The Handover Room: A Qualitative Enquiry into the Experience of Morning Clinical Handover for Acute Medical Teams (2016-ongoing) 
  • Assessment of Morbidity Patterns of Common Childhood Illness/Injury Seen in General Practice Settings and the Utilisation of Current Services (2013-2018)
  • Acute Mental Health Wards: Therapeutic Spaces or Stigmatising Places? (2017-ongoing) 

Selected Past Projects

  • The Prevalence and Burden of Herpes Zoster (Shingles) in New Zealand General Practice Populations (2016-2017)
  • Communication in Interpreted Health Encounters (2012-ongoing) 
  • Tracking Health Care Interactions: Patient-Professional Communication (2006-2010)
  • Understanding Diabetes Management-Tracking Communication in Primary Care (2009-2011)
  • TAbOO: Talking about Overweight and Obesity (2011-2016)
  • Demystifying Addiction & Recovery through Personal Stories (2012-2016)
  • H1N1: Models of Primary Care for Responding to Pandemic Influenza (2010-2011)
  • From talk to text: encoding medical notes in the general practice consultation (2008-2012)
  • Lifestyle talk and advice in clinical consultations (2007-2011)
  • Exploring Clinical Decision-Making when Rationing is Explicit (2003-2005)
  • Language in the Workplace Project (Victoria University of Wellington:1996-2003)
  • New Zealand English Discourse Project /Corpus of Spoken New Zealand English

See more past projects

^ Top of page

Publications

Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., Gray, L., Hilder, J., Dew, K., & Dowell, T. (2020). Talking about diabetes and healthy lifestyle in primary healthcare: Translating research findings into practice. In L. Mullany (Ed.), Professional communication: Consultancy, advocacy, activism. (pp. 129-150). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-41668-3_7

Ross, I., & Stubbe, M. (2022). Self-repeats-as-unit-ends: A practice for promoting interactivity during surgeons' decision-related informings. Research on Language & Social Interaction. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/08351813.2022.2075641

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2015). Power and politeness in the workplace: A sociolinguistic analysis of talk at work (2nd ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 200p.

Sheridan, N., Love, T., Kenealy, T., and the Primary Care Models Study Group, including Atmore, C., Crampton, P., Dowell, A., Gauld, R., McBain, L., Stokes, T., & Stubbe, M. (2023). Is there equity of patient health outcomes across models of general practice in Aotearoa New Zealand? A national cross-sectional study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 22, 79. doi: 10.1186/s12939-023-01893-8

White, S. J., & Stubbe, M. (2023). Patient responses to diagnosis in surgeon-patient consultations. Health Communication, 38(3), 608-617. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2021.1965278

Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., Gray, L., Hilder, J., Dew, K., & Dowell, T. (2020). Talking about diabetes and healthy lifestyle in primary healthcare: Translating research findings into practice. In L. Mullany (Ed.), Professional communication: Consultancy, advocacy, activism. (pp. 129-150). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-41668-3_7

Chapter in Book - Research

Ross, I., & Stubbe, M. (2022). Self-repeats-as-unit-ends: A practice for promoting interactivity during surgeons' decision-related informings. Research on Language & Social Interaction. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/08351813.2022.2075641

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2015). Power and politeness in the workplace: A sociolinguistic analysis of talk at work (2nd ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 200p.

Authored Book - Research

Sheridan, N., Love, T., Kenealy, T., and the Primary Care Models Study Group, including Atmore, C., Crampton, P., Dowell, A., Gauld, R., McBain, L., Stokes, T., & Stubbe, M. (2023). Is there equity of patient health outcomes across models of general practice in Aotearoa New Zealand? A national cross-sectional study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 22, 79. doi: 10.1186/s12939-023-01893-8

Journal - Research Article

White, S. J., & Stubbe, M. (2023). Patient responses to diagnosis in surgeon-patient consultations. Health Communication, 38(3), 608-617. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2021.1965278

Journal - Research Article

Barton, J., Dew, K., Dowell, A., Sheridan, N., Kenealy, T., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., … Gray, L., & Stubbe, M. (2016). Patient resistance as a resource: Candidate obstacles in diabetes consultations. Sociology of Health & Illness, 38(7), 1151-1166. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12447

Journal - Research Article

White, S. J., Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Dowell, A. C., Dew, K., & Gardner, R. (2016). The referred consultation. In S. White & J. A. Cartmill (Eds.), Communication in surgical practice. (pp. 9-34). Sheffield, UK: Equinox.

Chapter in Book - Research

Mathieson, F., Jordan, J., Carter, J. D., & Stubbe, M. (2016). Nailing down metaphors in CBT: Definition, identification and frequency. Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapy, 44(2), 236-248. doi: 10.1017/S1352465815000156

Journal - Research Article

Canty, J., Stubbe, M., Steers, D., & Collings, S. (2016). The trouble with bullying: Deconstructing the conventional definition of bullying for a child-centred investigation into children's use of social media. Children & Society, 30(1), 48-58. doi: 10.1111/chso.12103

Journal - Research Article

Morris, C., Macdonald, L., Stubbe, M., & Dowell, A. (2016). "It's complicated": Talking about gout medicines in primary care consultations: A qualitative study. BMC Family Practice, 17(1), 114. doi: 10.1186/s12875-016-0515-y

Journal - Research Article

Dew, K., Stubbe, M., Signal, L., Stairmand, J., Dennett, E., Koea, J., Simpson, A., Sarfati, D., … Holdaway, M. (2015). Cancer care decision making in multidisciplinary meetings. Qualitative Health Research, 25(3), 397-407. doi: 10.1177/1049732314553010

Journal - Research Article

MacRae, J., Darlow, B., McBain, L., Jones, O., Stubbe, M., Turner, N., & Dowell, A. (2015). Accessing primary care Big Data: The development of a software algorithm to explore the rich content of consultation records. BMJ Open, 5(8), e008160. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008160

Journal - Research Article

Weatherall, A., & Stubbe, M. (2015). Emotions in action: Telephone-mediated dispute resolution. British Journal of Social Psychology, 54(2), 273-290. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12082

Journal - Research Article

MacRae, J., Love, T., Baker, M. G., Dowell, A., Carnachan, M., Stubbe, M., & McBain, L. (2015). Identifying influenza-like illness presentation from unstructured general practice clinical narrative using a text classifier rule-based expert system versus a clinical expert. BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making, 15, 78. doi: 10.1186/s12911-015-0201-3

Journal - Research Article

Mathieson, F., Jordan, J., Carter, J. D., & Stubbe, M. (2015). The metaphoric dance: Co-construction of metaphor in cognitive behaviour therapy. Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 8, e24. doi: 10.1017/S1754470X15000628

Journal - Research Article

White, S. J., Stubbe, M. H., Macdonald, L. M., Dowell, A. C., Dew, K. P., & Gardner, R. (2014). Framing the consultation: The role of the referral in surgeon-patient consultations. Health Communication, 29(1), 74-80. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2012.718252

Journal - Research Article

Claridge, R., Gray, L., Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., & Dowell, A. C. (2014). General practitioner opinion of weight management interventions in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 6(3), 212-220.

Journal - Research Article

Macdonald, L., Stubbe, M., Tester, R., Vernall, S., Dowell, T., Dew, K., Kenealy, T., Sheridan, N., Docherty, B., Gray, L., & Raphael, D. (2013). Nurse-patient communication in primary care diabetes management: An exploratory study. BMC Nursing, 12(20). doi: 10.1186/1472-6955-12-20

Journal - Research Article

Dowell, A., Stubbe, M., Scott-Dowell, K., Macdonald, L., & Dew, K. (2013). Talking with the alien: Interaction with computers in the GP consultation. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 19(4), 275-282. doi: 10.1071/PY13036

Journal - Research Article

White, S. J., Stubbe, M. H., Dew, K. P., Macdonald, L. M., Dowell, A. C., & Gardner, R. (2013). Understanding communication between surgeon and patient in outpatient consultations. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 83(5), 307-311. doi: 10.1111/ans.12126

Journal - Research Article

Tester, R., Moriarty, H. & Stubbe, M. (2013). Demystifying addiction through personal stories: An online educational resource. Ako Aotearoa. Retrieved from http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/communities/demystifying-addiction-through-personal-stories-online-educational-resource. [Web Based Education Resource].

Other Research Output

Stubbe, M. (2013). Active listening in conversation: Gender and the use of verbal feedback. In S. Yamazaki & R. Sigley (Eds.), Approaching language variation through corpora: A festschrift in honour of Toshi Saito. (pp. 367-416). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.

Chapter in Book - Research

Stubbe, M. (2012). Sociolinguistics and intergroup communication. In H. Giles (Ed.), Handbook of intergroup communication. (pp. 70-84). New York: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Research

Gray, B., Hilder, J., & Stubbe, M. (2012). How to use interpreters in general practice: The development of a New Zealand toolkit. Journal of Primary Health Care, 4(1), 52-61. doi: 10.1071/HC12052

Journal - Research Article

Moriarty, H. J., Stubbe, M. H., Chen, L., Tester, R. M., Macdonald, L. M., Dowell, A. C., & Dew, K. P. (2012). Challenges to alcohol and other drug discussions in the general practice consultation. Family Practice, 29(2), 213-222. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmr082

Journal - Research Article

Major, G., Napier, J., & Stubbe, M. (2012). "What happens truly, not textbook!": Using authentic interactions in discourse training for healthcare interpreters. In L. Swabey & K. Malcolm (Eds.), In our hands: Educating healthcare interpreters. (pp. 27-53). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Dew, K., Stubbe, M., Dowell, A., & Macdonald, L. (2012). Side effects talk in general practice consultations. In B. R. Bates & R. Ahmed (Eds.), Medical communication in clinical contexts. (pp. 95-126). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

Chapter in Book - Research

Moriarty, H., & Stubbe, M. (2012). Saving face [Comment]. InSight, 16(30 April). Retrieved from http://www.mjainsight.com.au/

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Gardner, J., Dew, K., Stubbe, M., Dowell, T., & Macdonald, L. (2011). Patchwork diagnoses: The production of coherence, uncertainty, and manageable bodies. Social Science & Medicine, 73(6), 843-850. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.12.010

Journal - Research Article

Gray, B., Stanley, J., Stubbe, M., & Hilder, J. (2011). Communication difficulties with limited English proficiency patients: Clinician perceptions of clinical risk and patterns of use of interpreters. New Zealand Medical Journal, 124(1342). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/124-1342/4861/content.pdf

Journal - Research Article

Moriarty, H., Stubbe, M., Bradford, S., Tapper, S., & Lim, B. T. (2011). Exploring resilience in families living with addiction. Journal of Primary Health Care, 3(3), 210-217.

Journal - Research Article

Pullon, S., McKinlay, E., Stubbe, M., Todd, L., & Badenhorst, C. (2011). Patients' and health professionals' perceptions of teamwork in primary care. Journal of Primary Health Care, 3(2), 128-135.

Journal - Research Article

Dew, K., Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Dowell, A., & Plumridge, E. (2010). The (non) use of prioritisation protocols by surgeons. Sociology of Health & Illness, 32(4), 545-562. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01229.x

Journal - Research Article

Weatherall, A., Stubbe, M., Sunderland, J., & Baxter, J. (2010). Conversation analysis and critical discourse analysis in language and gender research: Approaches in dialogue. In J. Holmes & M. Marra (Eds.), Femininity, feminism and gendered discourse: A selected and edited collection of papers from the Fifth International Language and Gender Association Conference (IGALA5). (pp. 213-244). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars.

Chapter in Book - Research

Moriarty, H., Stubbe, M., Bradford, S., & Tapper, S. (2010). Living with addiction: Exploring the issues for families [Blue Skies Report No. 35/10]. Commissioned by Families Commission. Wellington, New Zealand: Families Commission. 60p.

Commissioned Report for External Body

Stubbe, M. (2010). ″Was that my misunderstanding?″: Managing miscommunication and problematic talk at work (PhD). Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. 246p.

Awarded Doctoral Degree

Moriarty, H. Huthwaite, M. Stubbe, M., & Jackson, B. (2010). Learning to portray empathy. Ako Aotearoa. Retrieved from http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/projects/learning-portray-empathy. [Web Based Education Resource].

Other Research Output

Moriarty, H., Stubbe, M., & Bradford, S. (2009). Opportunities for alcohol and other drug advice in the GP consultation. Commissioned by National Drug Policy New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 71p.

Commissioned Report for External Body

Stubbe, M., Dowell, T., Plumridge, L., MacDonald, L., & Dew, K. (2008). Antibiotics: Prescribing dilemma: Do our GPs say one thing while doing another? New Zealand Pharmacy, 28(3), 30362.

Journal - Research Article

Dew, K., Dowell, T., Stubbe, M., Plumridge, E., & Macdonald, L. (2008). 'Treating' patients differently: A qualitative study of how clinical and social factors shape interactions between doctors and patients. New Zealand Family Physician, 35(6), 282-386.

Journal - Research Article

Dew, K., Plumridge, E., Stubbe, M., Dowell, T., Macdonald, L., & Major, G. (2008). 'You just got to eat healthy': The topic of CAM in the general practice consultation. Health Sociology Review, 17(4), 396-409.

Journal - Research Article

Dowell, A., Macdonald, L., Stubbe, M., Plumridge, E., & Dew, K. (2007). Clinicians at work: What can we learn from interactions in the consultation? New Zealand Family Physician, 34(5), 345-350.

Journal - Research Article

Jones, D., & Stubbe, M. (2004). Communication and the reflective practitioner: A shared perspective from sociolinguistics and organisational communication. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 185-210.

Journal - Research Article

Daly, N., Holmes, J., Newton, J., & Stubbe, M. (2004). Expletives as solidarity signals in FTAs on the factory floor. Journal of Pragmatics, 36, 945-964.

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2004). Strategic code-switching in New Zealand workplaces: Scaffolding, solidarity and identity construction. In J. House & J. Rehbein (Eds.), Multilingual communication (vol. 3). (pp. 133-153). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins B. V..

Chapter in Book - Research

Stubbe, M., & Calhoun, S. (2004). The Language in the Workplace Project. http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/lwp/index.aspx. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University. [Website].

Other Research Output

Stubbe, M., Lane, C., Hilder, J., Vine, E., Vine, B., Marra, M., … Weatherall, A. (2003). Multiple discourse analyses of a workplace interaction. Discourse Studies, 5(3), 351-388.

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2003). Doing disagreement at work: A sociolinguistic approach. Australian Journal of Communication, 30(1), 53-77.

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J., Burns, L., Marra, M., Stubbe, M., & Vine, B. (2003). Women managing discourse in the workplace. Women in Management Review, 18(8), 414-424.

Journal - Research Article

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2003). ″Feminine″ workplaces: Stereotype and reality. In J. Holmes & M. Meyerhoff (Eds.), The handbook of language and gender. (pp. 573-599). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Chapter in Book - Research

More publications...