Dr Lesley Gray - Department of Primary Health and General Practice, Our people, University of Otago, Wellington, University of Otago, New Zealand

Senior Lecturer Beyond the Bar, Medical Trainee Intern 6th year General Practice Module Co-Convener and Trainee Intern Elective Convener

Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice

Background and Interests

Lesley joined the Department in 2008. She gained her Masters in Public Health (Glasgow) and Master of Science in Interprofessional Collaboration (London) before being awarded Fellowship of the UK Faculty of Public Health. Lesley has over 30 years’ experience establishing services in Public Health and Primary Care and held lecturing roles with Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry prior to immigrating to New Zealand. Lesley is an active member of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research (Massey University, Wellington) and completed her PhD in Emergency Management with the centre. Lesley is the New Zealand Principle Investigator of the Research Alliance in Disaster and Emergency Medicine (RADEM) International collaboration.

Teaching Activities

Postgraduate Education

Lesley convenes the postgraduate paper GENA737 Obesity Prevention and Management. Lesley is available to supervise Masters and PhD students. She convenes public health summer school courses on Public Health and Disasters and co-founded bariatric management innovation. Lesley provides free seminars and education for health professionals and emergency planners.

www.bariatricmanagementinnovation.org

Undergraduate Medical Education

Lesley convenes medical 6th year (trainee intern) modules and contributes to the 4th and 5th year teaching programmes. Lesley is also a member of the Wellington Interprofessional Teaching Initiative (WITI).

Research Activities

Lesley’s research interests concern health risk communication and behaviour, health equity and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Lesley is a member of the Applied Research on Communication in Health (ARCH) Group where she led the formation of the TabOO study (Talking About Overweight & Obesity). Her PhD looked at disaster risk reduction for stigmatised and marginalised groups in society. Lesley was awarded a 2020 Covid-19 Rapid Response grant from the Health Research Council and the Ministry of Health.

Sample of Current and Recent Research Projects

Improving effectiveness and equity in the operation of COVID-19 ‘self-isolation’ – Health Research Council/Ministry of Health funded 2020
Te matatini o te horapa: a population based contagion network for Aotearoa NZ – Health Research Council/Ministry of Health funded 2021-2023
COVID-19 Pandemic in Aotearoa NZ: Impact, Inequalities & Improving our response – Health Research Council/Ministry of Health funded 2020-2022
PhD in Emergency Management – disaster risk reduction considerations for big bodied people in Aotearoa New Zealand
Ethics, Equity, and Risk for Higher Weight People during the COVID-19 pandemic – United States National Science Foundation funded 2020
The built environment of primary and community care for big bodied people in Aotearoa New Zealand – partial funding from Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and Otago Medical School Research Grant
Dynamics of an effective risk communication campaign for Influenza A(H1N1) – Health Research Council/Ministry of Health funded 2010-11
Longitudinal Interprofessional (LIP) Study
The Empathy Project – longitudinal education research project – Committee for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching Grant.

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Publications

Darlow, B., Brown, M., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., Purdie, G., & Pullon, S. (2023). Influence of a rural interprofessional education placement on the rural health workforce: Working in primary care, rural settings, and with Māori [Short research report]. Journal of Primary Health Care, 15(1), 78-83. doi: 10.1071/hc22136

Parker, G., Pausé, C., Gillon, A., & Gray, L. (2023). Self-identified fat people’s understanding of the need for, and use of, long needles when being vaccinated against COVID-19: Findings from a international online exploratory survey [Short report]. Critical Public Health, 33(3), 375-382. doi: 10.1080/09581596.2022.2159789

Vinnell, L. J., Becker, J. S., Doyle, E. E. H., & Gray, L. (2023). COVID-19 vaccine intentions in Aotearoa New Zealand: Behaviour, risk perceptions, and collective versus individual motivations. Current Research in Ecological & Social Psychology, 4, 100082. doi: 10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100082

Darlow, B., Brown, M., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., Purdie, G., & Pullon, S. (2022). The Longitudinal Interprofessional study: Impact of pre-registration interprofessional education on the attitudes and skills of health professionals during their early careers. Proceedings of the New Zealand Primary Care Research Colloquium. (pp. 2-3). Retrieved from https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/fmhs/about-the-faculty/soph/sections-departments-centres/general-practice-and-primary-health-care/research-interests.html

Carroll, R., Rose, S. B., Garrett, S. M., & Gray, L. (2022). Fifth year medical students' education, confidence and learning needs related to healthcare provision for sexual and gender minority patients: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Primary Health Care. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1071/HC22082

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

Pullon, S., McKinlay, E., Gallagher, P., Gray, L., Skinner, M., & McHugh, P. (2015). Case study 14.4: Interprofessional education in a rural setting: A quick-start innovation for final-year health professional students. In K. Bin Abdulrahman, S. Mennin, R. Harden & C. Kennedy (Eds.), Routledge international handbook of medical education. (pp. 197). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. [Case Study].

Chapter in Book - Research

Journal - Research Article

Brown, M., Pullon, S., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., & Darlow, B. (2022). Template analysis of a longitudinal interprofessional survey: Making sense of free-text comments collected over time. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice & Education, 12(1). doi: 10.22230/jripe.2022v12n1a337

Journal - Research Article

Darlow, B., Brown, M., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., & Pullon, S. (2022). Factors influencing health career choices during clinicians' first three years in practice. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice & Education, 12(2), 1-13. doi: 10.22230/jripe.2022v12n2a347

Journal - Research Article

Darlow, B., Brown, M., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., Purdie, G., Pullon, S., the Longitudinal Interprofessional Study Group, including Beckingsale, L., Foster Page, L., Gallagher, P., Handley, J., Herkt, J., Kuperus, L., McHugh, P., Meldrum, A., Skinner, M., Schwass, R., Weaver, J., Wilson, C., & Windle, J. (2022). Longitudinal impact of preregistration interprofessional education on the attitudes and skills of health professionals during their early careers: A non-randomised trial with 4-year outcomes. BMJ Open, 12, e060066. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060066

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., Becker, J. S., MacDonald, C., & Johnston, D. (2022). Sizing up disaster risk reduction: A qualitative study of the voices of big bodied people in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 74, 102922. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102922

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Becker, J. S., & Johnston, D. (2022). A qualitative study of emergency management considerations for big-bodied people in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 67, 102646. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102646

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Puloka, A., Bocock, C., Gwyther, R., Rushton, A., Puloka, V., … Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. G. (2022). The lived experience of hotel isolation and quarantine at the Aotearoa New Zealand border for COVID-19: A qualitative descriptive study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 70, 102779. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102779

Journal - Research Article

Khorram-Manesh, A., Goniewicz, K., Phattharapornjaroen, P., Gray, L., Carlström, E., Sundwall, A., … Burkle, F. M. (2022). Differences in ethical viewpoints among civilian-military populations: A survey among practitioners in two European countries, based on a systematic literature review. Sustainability, 14, 1085. doi: 10.3390/su14031085

Journal - Research Article

Sørensen, J. L., Ranse, J., Gray, L., Khorram-Manesh, A., Goniewicz, K., & Hertelendy, A. J. (2022). Employees perception of organizational crises and their reactions to them: A Norwegian organizational case study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 818422. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.818422

Journal - Research Article

Turnbull, S. M., Hobbs, M., Gray, L., Harvey, E. P., Scarrold, W. M. L., & O'Neale, D. R. J. (2022). Investigating the transmission risk of infectious disease outbreaks through the Aotearoa Co-incidence Network (ACN): A population-based study. Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific, 20, 100351. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100351

Journal - Research Article

Canty, J., McBain, L., & Gray, L. (2021). Simulating ‘that jaw drop moment’: Challenging heteronormative assumptions in a novel clinical consultation skills session with undergraduate medical students. MedEdPublish, 10(1), 182. doi: 10.15694/mep.2021.000034.2

Journal - Research Article

Choi, K., Giridharan, N., Cartmell, A., Lum, D., Signal, L., Puloka, V., Crossin, R., Gray, L., Davies, C., Baker, M., & Kvalsvig, A. (2021). Life during lockdown: A qualitative study of low-income New Zealanders' experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1538), 52-67. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., Rose, S. B., Stanley, J., Zhang, J., Tassell-Matamua, N., Puloka, V., Kvalsvig, A., … Murton, S. A., … Baker, M. G. (2021). Factors influencing individual ability to follow physical distancing recommendations in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic: A population survey. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 51(Suppl. 1), S107-S126. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2021.1879179

Journal - Research Article

Hilder, J., Gray, L., Stubbe, M., Duncan, S., & Dowell, A. C. (2021). 'Water dripping on a stone': A feasibility study of a healthy weight management conversation approach in routine general practice consultations. Family Practice, 38(3), 246-252. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmaa122

Journal - Research Article

Misztal-Okońska, P., Goniewicz, K., Goniewicz, M., Ranse, J., Hertelendy, A. J., Gray, L., … Khorram-Manesh, A. (2021). Importance of immediate electronic-based feedback to enhance feedback for first-time CPR trainees. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 18, 3885. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18083885

Journal - Research Article

Pausé, C., Parker, G., & Gray, L. (2021). Resisting the problematisation of fatness in COVID-19: In pursuit of health justice. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 54, 102021. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.102021

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Tassell-Matamua, N., Stanley, J., Kvalsvig, A., Zhang, J., Murton, S., … Puloka, V., … Baker, M. G. (2020). Wearing one for the team: Views and attitudes to face covering in New Zealand/Aotearoa during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown. Journal of Primary Health Care, 12(3), 199-206. doi: 10.1071/HC20089

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., Rushton, A., & Hobbs, M. (2020). “We only have the one”: Mapping the prevalence of people with high body mass to aid regional emergency management planning in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, 101859. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101859

Journal - Research Article

Hales, C., Amankwaa, I., Gray, L., & Rook, H. (2020). Providing care for older adults with extreme obesity in aged residential care facilities: An environmental scan. Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand, 36(3), 24-36. doi: 10.36951/27034542.2020.012

Journal - Research Article

Kupietz, K., & Gray, L. (2020). Fear, history, stigma, and bias in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Emergency Management, 18(7). doi: 10.5055/jem.0541

Journal - Research Article

Hales, C., Gray, L., MacDonald, C., & Purdie, G. (2019). Dissonance in naming adiposity: A quantitative survey of naming preferences from a convenience sample of health professional and lay population in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1496), 20-30. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Dowell, A., Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., Gray, L., Vernall, S., … Dew, K. (2018). A longitudinal study of interactions between health professionals and people with newly diagnosed diabetes. Annals of Family Medicine, 16(1), 37-44. doi: 10.1370/afm.2144

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., Stubbe, M., Macdonald, L., Tester, R., Hilder, J., & Dowell, A. C. (2018). A taboo topic? How general practitioners talk about overweight and obesity in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 10(2), 150-158. doi: 10.1071/HC17075

Journal - Research Article

Hales, C., Gray, L., Russell, L., & MacDonald, C. (2018). A qualitative study to explore the impact of simulating extreme obesity on health care professionals’ attitudes and perceptions. Ostomy Wound Management, 1, 18-24.

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L. (2017). Social determinants of health, disaster vulnerability, severe and morbid obesity in adults: Triple jeopardy? International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 14(2), 1452. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14121452

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

Foster Page, L. A., Gray, L., Gallagher, P., McKinlay, E., & Rich, A. M. (2016). Untangling the web of influences on dental students' participation in interprofessional education programs. Journal of Dental Education, 80(6), 677-685.

Journal - Research Article

Gray, L., Chamberlain, R., & Morris, C. (2016). "Basically you wait for an 'in'": Community pharmacist views on their role in weight management in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 8(4), 365-371. doi: 10.1071/HC16026

Journal - Research Article

McKinlay, E., Gallagher, P., Wilson, C., Gray, L., McHugh, P., & Pullon, S. (2016). Social learning, shared accommodation and interprofessional education: I think those conversations that you have at the dinner table …. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 5, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.xjep.2016.07.001

Journal - Research Article

Pullon, S., Wilson, C., Gallagher, P., Skinner, M., McKinlay, E., Gray, L., & McHugh, P. (2016). Transition to practice: Can rural interprofessional education make a difference? A cohort study. BMC Medical Education, 16, 154. doi: 10.1186/s12909-016-0674-5

Journal - Research Article

McKinlay, E. M., Gallagher, P. A., Gray, L. A., Wilson, C. L., & Pullon, S. R. H. (2015). Sixteen months “from square one”: The process of forming an interprofessional clinical teaching team. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice & Education, 5(2). Retrieved from http://www.jripe.org/index.php/journal/article/view/191

Journal - Research Article

Woodbridge, M. R., Dowell, A. C., & Gray, L. (2015). 'He said he had been out doing the traffic': General practitioner perceptions of sexually transmitted infection and HIV testing strategies for men. Journal of Primary Health Care, 7(1), 50-56.

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

Lim, B. T., Moriarty, H., Huthwaite, M., Gray, L., Pullon, S., & Gallagher, P. (2013). How well do medical students rate and communicate clinical empathy? Medical Teacher, 35(2), e946-e951. doi: 10.3109/0142159x.2012.715783

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

Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Mackie, B., Paton, D., Johnston, D., & Baker, M. G. (2012). Community responses to communication campaigns for influenza A (H1N1): A focus group study. BMC Public Health, 12, 205. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-205

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

Campbell, J., Hobbs, M., O'Hara, L., Ballantyne, A., Heywood, A., & Gray, L. (2021). Equity in vaccine trials for higher weight people? Protocol for a rapid review of inclusion and exclusion criteria for higher weight people in clinical trials for COVID-19. BMJ Open, 11(5), e050114. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050114

Journal - Research Other

Campbell, J., Sutherland, J., Bucknall, D., O'Hara, L., Heywood, A., Hobbs, M., Ballantyne, A., & Gray, L. (2021). Equity in vaccine trials for higher weight people? A rapid review of weight-related inclusion and exclusion criteria for COVID-19 clinical trials. Vaccines, 9(12), 1466. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9121466

Journal - Research Other

Carroll, R., & Gray, L. (2021). Diversifying clinical education case studies. Clinical Teacher, 18, 494-496. doi: 10.1111/tct.13369

Journal - Research Other

Hall, K. H., Doolan-Noble, F., McKinlay, E., Currie, O., Gray, B., Gray, L., Richard, L., Stubbe, M., & Jaye, C. (2020). Ethics and equity in the time of coronavirus. Journal of Primary Health Care, 12(2), 102-106. doi: 10.1071/HCv12n2_ED2

Journal - Research Other

Kvalsvig, A., Summers, J., Gray, L., Telfar Barnard, L., & Baker, M. G. (2020). COVID-19 outbreaks in Aotearoa New Zealand: Urgent action is required to address systematic causes and consequences of border failures. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1527), 8-14. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Other

Rushton, A., Gray, L., Canty, J., & Blanchard, K. (2019). Beyond binary: (Re)defining "gender" for 21st century disaster risk reduction research, policy, and practice. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 16, 3984. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16203984

Journal - Research Other

Darlow, B., Brown, M., Gallagher, P., Gray, L., McKinlay, E., Purdie, G., Wilson, C., & Pullon, S. (2018). Longitudinal impact of interprofessional education on attitudes, skills and career trajectories: A protocol for a quasi-experimental study in New Zealand. BMJ Open, 8, e018510. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018510

Journal - Research Other

Gray, L. A. (2017). Central obesity and waist-to-height ratio as proxy for routine health risk assessment. British Medical Journal. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j2033

Journal - Research Other

Gray, L., & MacDonald, C. (2016). Morbid obesity in disasters: Bringing the "conspicuously invisible" into focus. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 13, 1029. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13101029

Journal - Research Other

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