A method built in public.
Before Macaw Communications, there was Between the Beats: a public knowledge-translation platform turning congenital heart disease research into clear, parent-facing insight.
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The examples below show the kind of work Macaw Communications brings to client projects: evidence synthesis, audience translation, narrative structure, emotional calibration, and practical outputs. Each one started with a complex source, a real audience, and a gap that needed bridging.
CASE STUDY 1 — PULSE OXIMETRY AND SKIN TONE BIAS
A technically dense, clinically sensitive issue sitting at the intersection of medical device accuracy, racial health equity, and newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects. High anxiety potential; high misunderstanding potential; a parent audience that needed clarity without panic and without false reassurance.
The Translation Work
Research synthesis across multiple studies and FDA communications; plain-language explanation of how pulse oximetry works and where it can fail; careful uncertainty framing (the evidence is real but the clinical picture is incomplete); practical parent-facing guidance; audience-sensitive tone that acknowledged the equity dimension directly without making it abstract.
The Output
Long-form explainer with embedded source references; social-ready summary; parent questions and practical takeaways.
Transferable Lesson
Equity-related health communication has to be accurate, direct, and careful enough not to dump fear onto families without giving them tools. Hedging the equity dimension to avoid discomfort doesn't protect anyone; it just makes the communication less trustworthy.
CASE STUDY 2 — FONTAN-ASSOCIATED LIVER DISEASE
A multi-system clinical reality affecting every patient who's had Fontan surgery — but one that most families learn about piecemeal, often years after the procedure, through surveillance protocols they don't fully understand. Dense hepatology and cardiology crossover; high emotional stakes (liver disease sounds terrifying); families encountering information without context.
The Translation Work
Evidence synthesis across cardiology, hepatology, and imaging literature; plain-language explanation of the Fontan circulation's effect on the liver; contextualisation of surveillance findings (what abnormal results do and don't mean); structured layering so families could read at their own depth; scare-then-contextualise approach — name the reality, then immediately frame scale, probability, and practical next steps.
The Output
Multi-part explainer series; glossary of terms; "what to ask your care team" scripts; printable reference for clinic appointments.
Transferable Lesson
When patients encounter surveillance without understanding why they're being surveilled, the information gap itself becomes a source of harm. Translation work in this space isn't just about clarity; it's about sequencing — what people need to understand first before the next layer makes sense.
CASE STUDY 3 — THE CHD SPORTS GUIDE
A fragmented evidence base spread across cardiology guidelines, exercise physiology research, and condition-specific recommendations — with families caught between "be careful" and "stay active" without any practical framework for what that actually looks like day to day. High parental anxiety; contradictory messaging from different clinical teams; fear of both overprotection and under-protection.
The Translation Work
Synthesis of exercise guidance across multiple CHD conditions and age groups; plain-language framework for understanding risk stratification; practical, actionable advice families could bring to conversations with their care teams; normalisation of physical activity as a health goal, not just a risk to manage.
The Output
Comprehensive guide with condition-specific sections; practical activity examples; conversation starters for clinical appointments; downloadable reference.
Transferable Lesson
When clinical guidance exists but is trapped inside professional frameworks, families default to the most conservative interpretation — which often means unnecessary restriction. Translation work here isn't adding information; it's making existing guidance usable by the people it was meant for.
CASE STUDY 4 — TRANSITION TO ADULT CARE
A systemic gap, not just an informational one. Young adults with lifelong heart conditions aging out of pediatric systems into adult cardiology settings that may not have equivalent congenital expertise; families losing the care team relationships that held everything together; a process that's well-documented in the literature as high-risk but poorly supported in practice.
The Translation Work
Research synthesis on transition outcomes and known failure points; gap analysis of the Canadian landscape; integration of lived-experience texture (what transition actually feels like, not just what protocols recommend); naming the structural problem without directing blame at individual clinicians; equipping readers with questions, timelines, and frameworks for self-advocacy.
The Output
Long-form investigative explainer; practical transition checklist; questions for both the pediatric and adult care teams; links to relevant programs and resources.
Transferable Lesson
Some communication challenges aren't about making complex information simple — they're about naming a systemic failure clearly enough that families can navigate it with their eyes open. The translation work here is structural, not just linguistic.
The Method Travels
The examples above are rooted in congenital heart disease, but the method — evidence synthesis, audience mapping, risk-sensitive translation, practical outputs — applies wherever complex knowledge needs to reach non-specialist audiences.
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Whether the topic is cardiac physiology, rare disease research, public health policy, clinical trial results, or a foundation's impact portfolio, the discipline is the same: read deeply, find the signal, translate with respect, and build something people can actually use.