The Local Health Authority (LHA) Roma 1 (ASL Roma 1) is one of the largest LHAs in Italy, managing and delivering healthcare services to over 1,000,000 residents across a 524 km2 area within the city of Rome (Lazio Region, central Italy). In addition to the million residents, it serves also an “extended” population estimated at over 500,000 daily visitors, including individuals permanently or temporarily present, city users and tourists, as well as individuals detained in two prisons, whose healthcare falls under the jurisdiction of the LHA.
Within the Italian National Health Service, LHAs are public entities responsible for organizing and delivering healthcare services to the population through their own facilities or in collaboration with public and private providers (e.g., the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore). LHAs provide primary care/family medicine, public health, and secondary care services through various facilities, including public and private hospitals, within their territories. Each LHA is divided into Local Health Districts (LHDs), which oversee the governance of primary care services at the local level and work in partnership with municipal authorities to ensure integrated health and social care. Moreover, the LHDs ensure access to healthcare services and provide coordination and continuity in addressing the population’s healthcare needs, integrating primary care with hospital services. Public health and preventive medicine services, such as screening and vaccination, are managed by the LHA’s Department of Prevention, while mental health services are handled by a dedicated department.
ASL Roma 1 comprises clinical, technical and administrative departments all serving hospitals (San Filippo Neri, Santo Spirito, Ospedale Monospecialistico Oftalmico – a regional reference center for ophthalmological conditions, Presidio Nuovo Regina Margherita, Presidio Cassia Sant’Andrea e Centro per la salute della donna Sant’Anna, for a total of nearly 700 beds) and numerous outpatient services. It also manages six Local Health Districts (Districts 1, 2, 3, 13, 14, and 15, based on Rome’s municipal divisions), which focus primarily on primary healthcare and coordinate the work of nearly 850 General Practitioners (GPs) and 150 Family Pediatricians (FPs), alongside a Mental Health Department and a Prevention Department.
The mission of ASL Roma 1 is to promote and protect the health and well-being of individuals and communities within its jurisdiction, ensuring the highest possible quality of life for all residents and those temporarily present in its territory.
As part of the COMFORTAGE project, ASL Roma 1 is actively involved as a healthcare testing ground and policy maker, developing and evaluating co-creation and training activities to enhance inclusiveness, democratic engagement, and community awareness. Additionally, ASL Roma 1 contributes to stakeholder engagement and the dissemination of project outcomes.
