Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Seasonal Influenza and Influenza Vaccination among Patients and Their Companions in North Palestine Hospitals

Table 2

Surveyed questions and responses to each question.

	Responses
	Agree (%)	Disagree (%)	Not sure (%)
Seasonal influenza
Flu is caused by a virus	88.4	2.1	10.4
Flu is the same as common cold	39.4	46.2	14.4
Flu can spread from one person to the other	94.5	4	2.1
Flu occurs at a certain period of the year	50.8	44	5.2
Symptoms	Percentage
Fever	78.3
Vomiting	19.3
Headache	65.7
Diarrhea	16.8
Muscle ache	80.4
Runny nose	77.1
Cough	60.6
Seasonal flu vaccine	Percentage
Knowledge
Have you ever heard of a vaccine to prevent flu before?
(i) Yes	85.3
(ii) No	14.7
Is the flu vaccine safe?
(i) Yes	53.6
(ii) No	16
(iii) Not sure	30.4
Can you still get the flu after flu vaccine?
(i) Yes	34.7
(ii) No	36.2
(iii) Not sure	29.4
How is the vaccine given?
(i) Injection	80.6
(ii) Nasal spray	4.3
(iii) Mouth drops	3.1
(iv)Not sure	14.2
Does the vaccine have side effects?
(i) Yes	46.5
(ii) No	16.3
(iii) Not sure	37.2
Side effects:
(i) Headache	54.8
(ii) Fever	73.4
(iii) Swelling at the injection site	62.1
(iv) Vomiting and fatigue	36.2
For how long can the vaccine protect?
(i) One flu season	65
(ii) Two flu seasons	4.3
(iii) Three more seasons	5.5
(iv) Not sure	34.3
When is the appropriate time to take the flu vaccine?
(i) Before the flu season starts	74.2
(ii) During the flu season	7.7
(iii) Immediately after the flu season	0.6
(iv) Not sure	17.8
Attitudes
Have you received a flu vaccine before?
(i) Yes	27.2
(ii) No	72.8
What is the reason(s) for not taking a flu vaccine?
(i) It is not necessary as flu is just a minor illness	67
(ii) It is expensive	17.8
(iii) It has serious side effects	25.6
(iv) Fears of needles and injection	25.2