In 2024, Sakarya University Foundation Schools (SAÜ Foundation Schools) established a strategic collaboration with the Special Education Department of the Faculty of Education at Sakarya University and the Ayşe Sadi Ünal Rehabilitation Center, which is known for its longstanding expertise. The aim of this collaboration was to enhance educational quality and elevate the level of services provided in the field of special education.
Sakarya University extends prevention, early detection, and caregiver support into the community through sustained, year-round education that prioritises accessibility, accuracy, and continuity. Programmes designed and implemented in previous years remained fully operational throughout 2024, with content adapted to local needs and delivered in formats that encourage participation and practical uptake.
Throughout 2024, the Hospital School Programme operated on a regular monthly basis within paediatric inpatient wards, ensuring continuity of learning and supporting the psychosocial well-being of children undergoing long-term treatment, thereby mitigating educational disruption and hospital-related anxiety.
In November 2024, a World Diabetes Week seminar advanced public literacy on metabolic risk, lifestyle modification, and self-management strategies, encouraging timely screening and consistent primary-care engagement.
Complementary outreach addressed musculoskeletal health and ageing-in-place. A Scoliosis and Posture Disorders seminar in 2024 emphasised early recognition, ergonomics-based non-invasive management, and appropriate referral to physiotherapy when indicated.
A Home Elderly and Palliative Care workshop in 2024 equipped family caregivers with practical, home-based care skills—covering symptom control, safety, mobility, nutrition, and communication—thereby improving quality of life for older adults and those requiring palliation.
Community-facing activities also covered sensitive and often misunderstood conditions: leukemia awareness efforts across 2024 dispelled common myths and encouraged prompt haematology referral at the first warning signs; autism inclusion programming in April 2024 promoted communication strategies, sensory-friendly practices, and stigma reduction to support social participation; and addiction-prevention training in March 2024, organised with civil-society partners, provided motivational tools, relapse-prevention techniques, and clear pathways to counselling and follow-up support.
In parallel with event-based outreach, the university delivers a broad portfolio of public education on core health topics through both face-to-face and online formats. Throughout 2024, open sessions and in-house trainings addressed family planning, healthy nutrition, obesity prevention, harmful substance use, infectious diseases, diet and health, sexual development, and privacy education. These offerings are designed to be inclusive and practical: students from all grade levels and departments can participate, and many sessions are open to non-university audiences to widen community reach. By combining accessible formats with clear, evidence-based guidance, the approach lowers barriers to accurate information, strengthens caregiver competence, and supports early detection and prevention where it is most actionable in everyday life.
Together, these efforts embed public health education within daily routines, reinforce health-promoting behaviours, and build community resilience. The programme mix in 2024—spanning hospital-based learning continuity, condition-specific seminars, caregiver training, and open public courses—translates academic expertise into tangible, real-world benefits, improving health literacy and self-management capacity across priority groups in the region.
