Effect of dispenser location on taking free condoms in an outpatient cocaine abuse treatment clinic.

Staff moved free condom dispensers from counselors' offices to the day room of an outpatient cocaine clinic.

They counted how many clients took condoms each day before and after the move.

Condom take-ups tripled when dispensers sat in the day room instead of staff offices.

The change was immediate and stayed high for the whole study.

Hsieh et al. (2014) and Mueller et al. (2000) show the same rule: put the prompt where people already go. A posted sign cut dish clutter in a hospital kitchen and graffiti in a public bathroom just like the day-room move boosted condom grabs.

DeFulio (2023) and Moss et al. (2020) use high-tech rewards to lift addiction-service engagement. Gaylord-Ross et al. (1995) proves you can get a big lift with zero tech—just move the item closer to clients.

Together the papers say: first make the healthy choice easy (move it), then add rewards if you need more.

You can raise safe-sex behavior in under five minutes. No extra staff, no new training, no cost. Just carry the dispenser from the private office to the public space where clients already hang out. Try it Monday morning and count take-ups for a week—you should see the same jump these authors saw.