Although researchers have found a correlation between health and social participation, more data are needed to determine the influence of health on the institutionalized elderly's participation. A study was conducted to explore the relationship between the perceived health status of the institutionalized elderly and their social participation. The sample was randomly drawn from a pool of elderly nursing home residents who were eligible for inclusion in the study. Interviews were conducted with 41 elderly residents. Data were obtained about the elderly's perceived health, social networks, and social participation using the Social Networks in Adult Life Questionnaire developed by Kahn and Antonucci. Results showed that 68% of the sample believed that their health hindered their social participation. Subjects reporting that health interfered with social participation reported larger personal networks. An inverse relationship was found between satisfaction with health and network size, suggesting that elderly in poor health attract more persons to their networks. These findings suggest that the institutionalized elderly continue to maintain informal social networks and that these networks, although significantly smaller than those reported by noninstitutionalized elderly, continue to provide some social support for the institutionalized elderly. (NB)