Awareness and perceived helpfulness of mental health peer workers in a representative sample of the Australian public

The aim of the current study was to explore awareness and perceived helpfulness of mental health peer workers in Australia, and factors associated with knowledge and perceptions. As part of a broader longitudinal study of mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey of a nationally representative sample of N = 812 Australians was conducted in June 2020. Investigation of peer work comprised two areas: 1) whether they had accessed or were aware of peer workers;and 2) perceived helpfulness of peer workers. Only participants who indicated awareness of peer workers were asked about helpfulness. Seventy-five participants (9.2%) reported accessing a peer worker, but over half the sample were not aware they existed (n = 448). Mean helpfulness ratings indicated that participants believed peer work is somewhat or very helpful. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, age was associated with both greater awareness and perceived helpfulness;awareness was also associated with social impairment, and helpfulness with positive social support. Awareness of peer workers across the general community is limited, but peer workers are viewed favourably. Particularly in the context of increased need for mental support due to COVID-19, this suggests an opportunity to increase the workforce with an acceptable addition to clinical support.Copyright © 2022 The Authors

Digitalization for supply chain resilience and robustness: The roles of collaboration and formal contracts

Black swan events such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak cause substantial supply chain disruption risks to modern companies. In today's turbulent and complex business environment, supply chain resilience and robustness as two critical capabilities for firms to cope with disruptions have won substantial attention from both the academia and industry. Accordingly, this study intends to explore how digitalization helps build supply chain resilience and robustness. Adopting organizational information processing theory, it proposes the mediating effect of supply chain collaboration and the moderating effect of formal contracts. Using survey data of Chinese manufacturing firms, the study applied structural equation modelling to test the research model. Results show that digitalization has a direct effect on supply chain resilience, and supply chain collaboration can directly facilitate both resilience and robustness. Our study also indicates a complementary mediating effect of supply chain collaboration on the relationship between digitalization and supply chain resilience and an indirect-only mediation effect on the relationship between digitalization and supply chain robustness. Findings reveal the differential roles of digitalization as a technical factor and supply chain collaboration as an organizational factor in managing supply chain disruptions. Paradoxically, formal contracts enhance the relationship between digitalization and supply chain resilience but weaken the relationship between supply chain collaboration and supply chain resilience. The validation of moderating effects determines the boundary conditions of digitalization and supply chain collaboration and provides insights into governing supply chain partners' behavior. Overall, this study enhances the understanding on how to build a resilient and robust supply chain.