. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Sep 1.

Published in final edited form as: Patient Educ Couns. 2013 Jul 23;92(3):381–387. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2013.06.017

TABLE 1.

Knowledge items

Knowledge item (accurate response)
The flu is a serious disease (T)
Most of the people who die from the flu are younger than 65 (F)
More people die from HIV/AIDS each year than from the flu (F)
The flu shot can give someone the flu (F)
The flu shot contains a live virus (F)
The flu shot can protect people against the flu (T)
The flu virus changes every year (T)
Getting the flu shot is a person's best protection against the flu (T)
The side effects of the flu shot are worse than the flu (F)
Someone might have a sore arm after getting the flu shot (T)
People my age are at risk for getting the flu (T)
Only people 65 and older should get the flu shot (F)
The flu is spread through the air (T)
October and November are the best times to get the flu shot (T)^*
People can get the flu shot in December or later (T)

Note that as of the time of the study (September 2009 – March 2010), the CDC recommended that the best time to get the flu shot was in October or November.