The purpose of this article is to analyze the concepts that guide the practices of health promotion by professionals at a family health unit in the city of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, Brazil. A qualitative survey was carried out, with interview techniques and participatory observations, involving semi-structured interviews and field diaries. Data was collected between April and May, 2010. The key participants were six members of a health promotion management commission and another two professionals, recommended by the commission, thus totaling eight interviewees. The interviews and the field diaries were analyzed based on the discourse analysis method. The analysis categories were concepts of health promotion, knowledge of the National Health Promotion Policy and health promotion initiatives, from planning to execution. Documents from international conferences on health promotion and the National Health Promotion Policy were all used as theoretical references. The interviewees proved to have an extensive knowledge of health care, which directly influenced their concept of health promotion; however, there is incoherence between the discourse and the practice. This study is expected to contribute to a reflection on the health promotion activities undertaken by these professionals.
health promotion; quality of life; health education