Associate Professor
Stuart Ekberg

Faculty of Health,
School of Psychology & Counselling
Biography
Roles:- QUT Lead, International Consortium for Communication in Healthcare
- Chief Investigator, QUT Centre for Healthcare Transformation
- Associate Investigator, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child
- Clinical interactions (palliative care, pain clinics, psychotherapy, paediatric speech-language pathology, community aged care), including clinical interactions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Online interactions (videoconferencing, text-based 'chat rooms')
- Mundane interactions (i.e. everyday conversations between family members and friends)
- Educational interactions (e.g. in preschools)
Research Impact By working with recordings of real-world social interactions, my research is easily applied to ensure real-world impact. My experience of real-world engagement includes:
- Development of an eLearning module to support effective communication with families of children with life-limiting conditions (developed for the Quality of Care Collaborative for Australia in Paediatric Palliative Care, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health).
- Development and nationwide dissemination of prompt lists (available here and here) that can be used by families of children with life-limiting conditions to enhance their consultations with healthcare professionals (funded by Gilead Sciences Europe Ltd.).
- A review underpinning a National Action Plan for Paediatric Palliative Care in Australia.
- Pratt, G., Combo, M., Bernardes, C., Ekberg, S., Isua, G., Medlin, L., Burke, K., Birch, S., Meuter, R., Scott, J., Douglas, T., Alchin, A., Toombs, M., Henaway, C., Bean, N. (2021). Communication training for mental health professionals: developing cultural sensitivity and capability to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people mental health outcomes. NHMRC Ideas Grant (App: 2011912)
- Bradford, N., Ekberg, S., Tyack, Z., McCreanor, V., Pitt, E, Cronin, H., Walker, R., Hassall, T., Kemp, J., Radford, C., Carter, A., Cashion, C. & Condon, P. (2021). Implementation and evaluation of a technology enhanced model of psychosocial care for children with cancer and their families (eMaP). Children’s Hospital Foundation Health Services Research Grant (HSR0112021)
- Bowers, A., Singh, G., Bradford, N., Ekberg, S., Ekberg, K., Yates, P., Dettrick, Z., Herbert, A. R. & McLarty, A. (2021). Needs analysis and gap-analysis in the delivery of Paediatric Palliative Care across Australia. Department of Health, Australian Government
- Pritchard, V., de Zubicaray, G., McMahon, K., Bradford, N., Ekberg, S. & White, S. (2021). Promoting school re-entry and enhancing academic engagement in survivors of paediatric brain cancer. Perpetual's 2021 IMPACT Philanthropy Program (IPAP2021/0582)
- Ekberg, S., Bowers, A., Bradford, N. & Ekberg, K. (2020). Literature review on paediatric palliative care to inform the development of a National Action Plan. Department of Health, Australian Government.
- Ekberg, S., Stevenson, J., Martinez, K., Win, M.M., Lord, S., Yates, P. & Sansone, H. (2019). Managing expectations and information needs in initial palliative care consultations. The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation (INV2019-27).
- Pratt, G., Bryant, M., Meuter, R., Ekberg, S., Lin, I. & Birch, S. (2019). Improving communication and health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People living with chronic pain. Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) - Rapid Applied Research Translation (RART)
- Bradford, N., Ekberg, S., Brain, D. & Yates, P. (2018). Addressing survivorship and palliative care needs in children and adolescents with brain cancer. Children’s Hospital Foundation (CCABCR011)
- Danby, S., Ekberg. S., Rendle-Short, J., Yates, P., Bradford, N., Herbert, A., Bluebond-Langner, M. (2017). Extraordinary yet mundane talk: Children navigating palliative care. Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP180101941).
- Ekberg, S. (2016). Talking about Troubles: A comparison of everyday and therapeutic talk. Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE170100026).
- Ekberg, S., Yates, P., Danby, S., Herbert, A. & Bradford, N. (2016). The 'So Many Questions' Project. Gilead Sciences Europe Ltd.
- Leydon-Hudson, G., Little, P., Moore, M., Ekberg, S., Heritage, J., Drew, P., Stuart, B., Stevenson, F., Ogden, J., Chew-Graham, C., Mercer, S. & Brindle, L. (2012). A proof of concept trial to improve elicitation of patients’ concerns in primary care consultations, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (UK).
Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Psychology & Counselling- Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI),
IHBI Health Projects - Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Keywords
Social interaction, Conversation analysis, Health communication, Social psychology
Discipline
Psychology, Linguistics
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) (University of Adelaide)
- Graduate Certificate in Science & Technology Communication (University of Adelaide)
- Bachelor of Psychology with First Class Honours (University of Adelaide)
Teaching
My teaching focuses on health communication, health psychology, and qualitative research methods. I currently teach in the following units:
- PYB007 Communication for Healthcare Professionals
- PYB110 Psychological Research Methods
- PYB210 Research Design and Data Analysis
- PYB307 Health Psychology
- PYB350 Advanced Statistical Analysis
- PYH401 Advanced Research Methods
- HLN405 Qualitative Research
I am an Associate Fellow (Indigenous) of the Higher Education Academy, a specialist award recognising my work to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into learning and teaching.
Selected publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Stuart, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Communicating about anticipatory grief in paediatric palliative care
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Susan Danby - How a shared understanding of race, ethnicity, and culture between therapist and client is accomplished within a mental health setting
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Renata Meuter - Risk and protective factors associated with quality of life in paediatric brain cancer patients
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Natalie Bradford - Dietary support and communication in the gynaecological cancer survivorship setting
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Jolieke van der Pols - Family-clinician communication around pain management for children in palliative care
MPhil, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Susan Danby
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- An Exploration of the Concept of Integrated Palliative Cancer Care in the Indonesian Context (2022)
- The Interactional Organisation of Reassurance in Telephone-Based Paediatric Palliative Care (2022)
- The Influence of Maternal Interactive Beliefs and Style on the Language Development of Preterm and Full-Term Children (2019)