Background <p>Digital health has become a critical driver of health system strengthening and universal health coverage. In Thailand, national digital health strategies emphasize workforce readiness as a key mechanism for effective implementation, particularly within primary healthcare systems. Kalasin Province, located along the R9 East–West Economic Corridor (EWEC), represents a strategically important context characterized by increasing population mobility, economic activity, and complex public health demands. Despite ongoing investments in digital health infrastructure, disparities in workforce readiness and digital competency development remain evident across primary healthcare settings. Therefore, this study assessed the perceived need for digital health competency development as the primary outcome. This construct captures healthcare personnel’s awareness of competency gaps rather than objectively measured competency levels.</p> Objective <p>This study aimed to examine factors associated with the perceived need for digital health competency development in driving digital health strategies among public health personnel working within primary healthcare service networks in Kalasin Province, Thailand.</p> Methods <p>A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 430 public health personnel using a structured questionnaire. Data were collected on socioeconomic characteristics, change management, digital intelligence, and social support from supervisors and colleagues. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) with a logistic link function were applied to identify factors associated with a high level of self-reported perceived need for digital health strategy competency development, accounting for clustering by professional position as a random effect.</p> Results <p>Overall, 70.7% of participants reported a high level of perceived need for digital health competency development to support digital health strategy implementation. Multivariable GLMM analysis revealed that high levels of change management in organizational culture, key domains of digital intelligence (including digital identity, privacy management, and ethical technology use), and strong resource-based social support from supervisors and colleagues were significantly associated with increased odds of high perceived competency development needs. No significant differences were observed across professional positions.</p> Conclusions <p>The findings suggest that the perceived need for digital health competency development reflects healthcare personnel’s may reflect awareness of development needs for digital upskilling. Organizational culture, selected domains of digital intelligence, and resource-based support were associated with higher perceived development needs. These findings may inform targeted workforce development strategies in similar primary healthcare settings, particularly where digital transformation is being implemented within resource-constrained and mobility-sensitive contexts.</p>