Long term care includes services such as home health care, rehabilitation, adult day care, care management, social services, assisted living, and nursing home services. Long term care services may be delivered on a regular basis or intermittently over a period of several months, several years, or a lifetime.

Individuals need long-term care when a chronic condition, trauma, or illness limits their ability to carry out basic self-care tasks, called activities of daily living (ADLs), (such as bathing, dressing or eating), or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) (such as household chores, meal preparation or managing money).

Long term care comprises a broad range of services provided to persons of all ages who have lost their ability to function independently because of a physical or mental impairment.  Long-term care differs from other types of health care in that its goal is not to cure an illness, but to allow an individual to attain and maintain an optimal level of independence.