While health literacy has been widely considered key to patient empowerment, an alternative
approach separates both concepts and distinguishes between dif-ferent types of patients
according to their levels of health literacy and empowerment. These types are
deemed to vary in their health-related actions and outcomes. In this study, we exam-ine the
relationship between health literacy and patient empowerment and compare socio-demographic
characteristics, health-related activities, and health outcomes in four types of patients
suffering from chronic low back pain (cLBP).