IFM Community Medicine’s Why We Do What We Do: Sexual Health Promotion

IFM Community Medicine, based in St. Louis, has a patient population that skews young. In 2025, 58 percent of its patients were 18 or younger and of those, 40 percent were in their teenage years. Overall, 80 percent of its patient population is less than 40 years old. Because the majority are in the height of their sexually active/reproductive years, IFM has worked to build its services to protect patients’ sexual health during this period of life. 

IFM’s clinics offer risk assessment, testing, and medications for STIs (sexually transmitted infections), education/resources for contraception/family planning, and referrals to its clinics, which provide women’s health services or other specialists when needed. The majority of its patients were previously not receiving services of this kind prior to coming to an IFM clinic and were at risk of illness, transmission to partners, and consequential effects of these preventable infections. Even if they had seen a provider for these needs in the past, it wasn’t the consistent, affordable, accessible care IFM can provide.

As part of these services, IFM participates in the St. Louis Regional Expanded Testing Program for HIV and offers free rapid HIV testing to all sexually active patients as part of its standard of care, using an opt-out protocol (meaning we inform our patients the test is part of their routine care while giving them the opportunity to opt out if desired). Knowing HIV status is critical. If a patient is positive, they can start an effective medication regime to significantly minimize negative effects from infection, including transmission to other partners and the progression to active infection. Patients who test positive are referred to HIV specialists also participating in the Regional Program. If they are negative, we discuss their personal risk factors, prevention strategies, and determine if prophylactic medications may be warranted. When taken before exposure, an ongoing treatment protocol called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) can significantly reduce transmission among HIV negative patients at high risk for contracting HIV. 

The latest service IFM is able to offer through a partnership with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is Hepatitis C testing and referral. Hepatitis C is a blood borne, viral infection that can be transmitted via sexual activity and can cause serious damage to the liver. Hepatitis C can be asymptomatic even though damage is occurring, which makes early diagnosis and treatment critical. IFM’s clinics are able to assess risk and offer free testing and referrals for our patients in need at each of our clinic sites throughout the greater St. Louis area. 

Since the start of the programs in 2025, IFM has provided 335 HIV tests (with three positives that were previously unknown) and 24 Hepatitis C tests (with one previously unknown positive) at no charge to patients in need. IFM’s work is essential to the St. Louis region’s efforts to identify previously undiagnosed patients with STIs, HIV, and Hepatitis C and reduce the spread and effects of these infections in St. Louis communities. 

IFM Community Medicine’s mission is to strengthen underserved communities, one patient at a time, to promote community health. It lives this mission every day by taking healthcare services directly to points of need in the community, overcoming access barriers related to cost, transportation, language, and trust.