Wilson, HollyDonkin, LiesjeHarrison, JeffBrackley, KimLim, Anecita GigiChan, Amy Hai Yan2026-03-112026-03-112024-08-20Psychology & Health, ISSN: 0887-0446 (Print); 1476-8321 (Online), Informa UK Limited, 41(1), 76-95. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2024.23919120887-04461476-8321http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20756Background: Hospital readmissions are costly for patients, their families and healthcare systems. Identifying and addressing risk factors can reduce the number of people who experience readmission. Few studies have explored modifiable risk factors such as health beliefs from patients’ perspective to explore the complexity of risk factors for readmission. This study aimed to identify modifiable readmission risk factors from the perspectives of patients who have experienced readmission and their families. Methods: Adults (≥18 years) readmitted within 30 days of discharge to a general medical or surgical ward at a large urban hospital in New Zealand were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to explore their readmission experience. Interviews were conducted during the readmission and were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: A total of 30 participants were interviewed. Six themes relating to readmission were identified: inadequate communication between health professionals and patients, misalignment between patient illness perceptions and treatment, unclear or missing information, poor health literacy, poor medication mismanagement, and health system factors. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of considering patient experiences, such as their expectations, illness and treatment beliefs, to reduce readmissions. Ensuring communication is patient centred and quality professional-patient relationships could reduce readmissions.© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Hospital readmissionshealth beliefshealth literacyhospital dischargemedication adherence4203 Health Services and Systems4205 Nursing42 Health SciencesPreventionClinical ResearchHealth ServicesPatient Safety8.1 Organisation and delivery of services7.1 Individual care needs7.3 Management and decision makingGeneric health relevance3 Good Health and Well Being1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy1701 PsychologyClinical Psychology4206 Public health5203 Clinical and health psychology5205 Social and personality psychologyHumansPatient ReadmissionFemaleMaleQualitative ResearchMiddle AgedAdultNew ZealandRisk FactorsAgedHealth LiteracyYoung AdultCommunicationPatient DischargeProfessional-Patient RelationsInterviews as TopicHumansPatient DischargePatient ReadmissionRisk FactorsCommunicationProfessional-Patient RelationsQualitative ResearchAdultAgedMiddle AgedNew ZealandFemaleMaleInterviews as TopicYoung AdultHealth LiteracyHumansPatient ReadmissionFemaleMaleQualitative ResearchMiddle AgedAdultNew ZealandRisk FactorsAgedHealth LiteracyYoung AdultCommunicationPatient DischargeProfessional-Patient RelationsInterviews as TopicJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1080/08870446.2024.2391912