The Impact of Organizational Support on Community Nurses' Innovative Behavior: Mediating Roles of Professional Identity and Telehealth Readiness

Aim: The aim of this study was to integrate Social Cognitive Theory to examine the influence of perceived organizational support on community nurses' innovative behaviours, considering the parallel mediating roles of professional identity and telehealth readiness, thereby providing a multidimensional theoretical foundation for enhancing innovative behaviours among primary care nursing workforce. Design: A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Methods: Participants included 453 community nurses from community health service centers in Shenzhen, China. Data were collected between July and September 2025 using the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Professional Identity Scale, Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool and Nurse Innovative Behavior Scale. Data analyses were conducted via descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) with bootstrap testing for mediating effects using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0. Results: Perceived organizational support was positively correlated with community nurses' innovative behaviours, and professional identity and telehealth readiness exerted significant parallel mediating effects in this relationship. Perceived organizational support directly and positively predicted innovative behaviours, and also positively influenced professional identity and telehealth readiness, which in turn positively predicted innovative behaviours. The hypothetical model exhibited a good fit. Conclusion: Perceived organizational support positively predicts community nurses' innovative behaviours through both direct and indirect pathways, with professional identity and telehealth readiness serving as key parallel mediators. Keywords: nurses; professional identity; innovative behavior; organizational support; Impact: Enhancing perceived organizational support, strengthening professional identity and improving telehealth readiness can boost innovative behaviours among community nurses, advancing the innovation and high-quality development of primary care services. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: Nursing managers should optimize organizational support systems, foster professional identity and improve telehealth training and infrastructure for community nurses to inspire proactive innovative practice, ultimately refining primary care nursing service quality and improving health outcomes for community residents. Reporting Method: STROBE guidelines were followed. Patient or Public Contribution: This study clarifies how organizational and individual factors jointly affect community nurses' innovative behaviours, providing a theoretical foundation for improving primary care nursing management, service innovation and disciplinary development in grassroots healthcare settings.