<p> The purpose of this action research study was to examine the effects of the stigma of mental illness towards individuals with mental illness on services provided by medical professionals, specifically, registered nurses who work in an emergency department (ED). There have been numerous studies on how attitudes towards mental illness can be present in health care professionals; however, none that focused specifically on the attitudes of ED nurses. Nurses working in the ED are often the first health care professional a patient with mental illness sees and their attitude can influence the rest of the ED visit. The Opening Minds Scale for Health Care Workers (Modgill, Patten, Knaak, Kassam, &amp; Szeto, 2014. &ldquo;Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC): Examination of Psychometric Properties and Responsiveness&rdquo;) and the Caring Nurse Patient Interaction Short Form (Cossette, Cote, Pepin, Ricard, &amp; D&rsquo;Aoust, 2006. &ldquo;A Dimensional Structure of Nurse-Patient Interactions from a Caring Perspective: Refinement of the Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale (CNPI-Short Scale)&rdquo;) were used to measure attitude towards stigma and the perception of the care a nurse gives a patient. Thirty-four nurses from two emergency departments participated in the research with the expectation of there being high levels of stigma which would in turn affect the care given to the patients with mental illness. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression and ANOVA were used to find low to moderate levels of stigma of mental illness, and these nurses had a perception of providing excellent care to their patients. This is in contrast to other studies finding moderate to high levels of stigma in general among health care professionals. This information can be useful in exploring and then using any policies and procedures present in the research sites for the benefit of other emergency departments. Additional research is planned to further review these sites and other emergency departments within the hospital network to ascertain if these results hold true, and if so, identify the dynamics involved.</p><p>

<p> Over the past several years, mental healthcare system in United States has evolved tremendously, however majority of people are still struggling with various forms of mental illness and find it difficult to get appropriate treatment at the right time due to barriers like lack of providers, poor access, high cost and, social stigma. This business plan proposes an online mental health service company PsychWeb, offering telemental health services, with the aim of improving access to mental healthcare in the comfort of one&rsquo;s own living environment.</p><p> Chapter 1 of this business plan is about complete market analysis for the online mental health industry along with the business overview for PsychWeb and its services. It also sheds light on business target population, competitors, growth strategies and proposed future milestones. Chapter 2 shows an in depth feasibility analysis using SWOT that ensures business viability and success. In chapter 3, we have discussed the legal and regulatory issues, along with company formation, and laws around provider and patient use of PsychWeb services laying stress on HIPAA and provider licensure requirements at the state and federal level. Lastly, chapter 4 explains the financial analysis conducted to ensure the business profitability. It gives a detailed breakdown of monthly and yearly expenditures, revenues generated and profit margin projections. All financial statements generated in the process are provided in the appendix of this business plan.</p>