Increasing the immunization of preschool children; an evaluation of applied community interventions.

Researchers mailed two kinds of reminders to parents of preschoolers who needed shots. One group got a generic card. Another got a short note that named the child and listed the exact shots due.

Some parents also received a small cash coupon worth five or ten dollars. Staff then counted how many families showed up at the city immunization clinic.

The personal note plus the cash coupon doubled clinic visits. The note alone also helped and cost almost nothing.

Wine (2025) later found that just two dollars per shift pushed adult office workers to file faster. The dollar amount was smaller, but the pattern is the same: tiny payments move people.

Batchelder et al. (2023) added a twist. They raised the bonus each week adults hit their step goal, then dropped it back to zero after a miss. Escalating pay still worked, showing the 1984 flat five-dollar rate was not the only way to go.

Blackman et al. (2022) moved the prompt-plus-cash package indoors. They paid agency trainers five dollars and gave personal feedback whenever staff ran a training session right. Trainer fidelity rose, proving the old parent trick works on employees too.

You already write behavior plans and track data. Add a quick personal prompt and a small incentive when you need a family, staff member, or client to act. The combo is cheap, fast, and has forty years of replication behind it. Try it next time attendance or follow-through stalls.