A nursing home is a place of residence for people who require constant medical care, but at a lower level than a hospital. Usually the residents are elderly, but the term can apply to places of care for the mentally or physically ill.

A nursing home differs from a retirement home in that it is intended for those in need of more thorough care. Apart from the provision of additional medical staff, the facilities are usually similar.

Often there is confusion between a nursing home and an assisted living facility. An assisted living facility does have some similarities to a nursing home; however, a nursing home's patients need more intensive care than residents in an assisted living facility.

People in nursing homes generally do not live in self contained apartment like those found in an assisted living facility. They live in single rooms that are often equipped with modern medical monitoring equipment. There is usually a nursing station in each hallway of a nursing home, whereas there is usually no such facility in an assisted living facility. There is a professional housekeeping staff in a nursing home who is responsible for ensuring that the rooms, beds, towels, bathrooms, and other facilities are kept sanitary. An assisted living facility's residents often take care of these tasks themselves.

When considering living arrangements for those who are unable to live by themselves, it is important to carefully look at many nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well as retirement homes, keeping in mind the person's abilities to take care of themselves independently.