Date, Time, Place: 7 March, online, 12-13.00 (GMT)/ 13.00-14-30 (VET)

Presenter: Dr Polina Mesinioti

To watch the recorded talk, see here

Bio:

Dr Polina Mesinioti is a sociolinguist employing discourse analysis, ethnography, and multimodal approaches to examine how language and interaction shape healthcare experiences and patient safety outcomes. She is a Lead Researcher on the Response Study at the University of York, a large-scale evaluation of the national patient safety policy. Her research and teaching span medical sociology, sociolinguistics, qualitative methods, and healthcare policy, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warwick.

Abstract:

Multimodal approaches are gaining traction in health communication research. However, discourse studies have largely prioritised verbal cues, gaze, and gesture, while the role of materiality remains underexplored (De Fina & Georgakopoulou, 2020). Examining the material ecology of healthcare settings through a multimodal lens can offer valuable insights into clinical performance and patient safety.

In this talk, I will present my completed PhD research on the discursive construction of leadership in medical emergencies. By introducing the concept of ‘material zones’, I will show how I analysed healthcare professionals’ engagement with material space and its impact on clinical performance. Additionally, drawing on my recent review (Mesinioti, 2025), I will reflect on the methodological challenges and theoretical implications of applying multimodal discourse approaches in health communication research.

References

De Fina, A., & Georgakopoulou, A. (Eds.). (2020). Discourse Materialities and Embodiment: Introduction. In The Cambridge Handbook of Discourse Studies (pp. 255–370). Cambridge University Press.

Mesinioti, P. (2025). Multimodal discourse analysis in health communication: sketching out the field. Qualitative Health Communication, 4(1), 2–16. https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.148808