Background: This study evaluated the current health promotion capacity level of Chinese healthcare professionals and explored the association between health promotion capacity and preventive health service practices.
Methods: A total of 124 doctors and 72 nurses were recruited from 6 county hospitals and 12 community health centers from June to August 2019 in Zhejiang Province, China. Health promotion capacity was measured using the revised Chinese version of the Health Promotion Professionals Core Competency Scale.
Results: The mean total score on the health promotion capacity scale was 45.04 (SD = 7.30). Total health promotion capacity score was negatively associated with county hospitals (β = − 0.32, p < 0.001; Ref: community health center) and positively associated with a monthly income of more than 5001 RMB ($786.39) (β = 0.25, p = 0.004; Ref: less than 5000 RMB ($786.24)). All domain scores of the health promotion capacity scale were positively related to preventive health service practices.
Conclusion: Health promotion capacity is one of the most important capacities among healthcare professionals, and there is a particular need to improve nurses’ capacity. A higher level of health promotion capacity is beneficial for implementing preventive health services.
Keywords: healthcare professionals, health promotion, primary care, capacity