Egalitarian aspects of medical and social services.

Unmet needs for medical and social services are present in all socioeconomic strata, but workers and poor people suffer most. Satisfaction of the needs of these groups could help to narrow the differences in health and survival between social classes. As needs for services change with the historical period, age, and changing attitudes to help-seeking in younger generations, we require cohort studies of needs measured directly in random samples of the population. Cohort analyses could form the basis for future plans to provide services equitably.