'We all have a stake in this': a phenomenological inquiry into integrating suicide intervention in home-delivered meal service contexts.

OBJECTIVES: Late-life suicide is a public health concern, yet many older adults do not have access to traditional mental health services. The present study sought to explore how suicide intervention is integrated into home-delivered meal (HDM) contexts following volunteer training in an evidence-based suicide first responder program. METHODS: Using phenomenological inquiry, we examined the experiences of 20 HDM volunteers trained in ASIST. RESULTS: Three primary themes emerged: (a) Logistics influencing integration of Suicide Intervention into HDM Systems, describing HDM program logistics; (b) Intrapersonal Context, describing HDM volunteer characteristics influencing intervention utilization and HDM client concerns; and (c) Interpersonal Context, describing HDM relationship characteristics that influenced intervention utilization. CONCLUSION: HDM and other nutrition services have potential for addressing late life suicide, particularly when volunteers best equipped to address risk receive training and HDM policies reflect the needs of their clients. Implications for HDM services, as well as the Aging Services Network, are discussed.

Racial Differences in the Relationship Between Pain and Suicide Desire in Older Adults.

Older adults are reported to die by suicide at higher rates than the general population. Suicide desire among older adults is associated with pain, and pain experiences have been found to differ based on race. To investigate the relationship between pain and suicidal desire, 437 racially diverse older adults who receive home-based services (home-delivered meals) in the Southeastern region of the United States completed standardized measures of psychological pain, chronic physical pain, and suicidal desire. Results identified race moderated the relationship between pain and suicidal desire, indicating a stronger relationship between pain and suicidal desire among Black older adults than White older adults. Chronic physical pain (i.e., emotional burden) interacted with race to predict Perceived Burdensomeness (p = .011) and Thwarted Belongingness (p = .032). Greater attention to pain experiences among Black older adults is warranted, considering the impact of COVID-19 on racial/ethnic minorities' mental health.

Resource loss and mental health during COVID-19: Psychosocial protective factors among U.S. older adults and those with chronic disease.

Across the globe, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the physical and mental health of several vulnerable groups. In a series of two cross-sectional studies conducted April to July 2020, we examined its acute mental health effects on two vulnerable U.S. community samples-home-bound older adults who were at or below the poverty line (Study 1, N = 293, Mage  = 76.94, SD = 8.64; 75.1% female, 67.9% Black) and adults with chronic disease (Study 2, N = 322, Mage  = 62.20, SD = 12.22; 46.3% female, 28.3% racial/ethnic minorities). Based on the conservation of resources theory, we hypothesised that pandemic-related resource loss would be associated with greater mental distress, but perceived social support and positive psychological characteristics (trait resilience and optimism) would buffer against this adverse effect. Across both samples of vulnerable adults, pandemic-related resource loss was related to mental distress. Perceived social support was related to lower mental distress but did not consistently buffer the effect of resource loss on mental health. However, in Study 2, both trait resilience and optimism buffered this relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the conservation of resources theory.

Why humility is vital to effective humanitarian aid leadership: a review of the literature.

Organisational scientists are paying increasing attention to humility, following a larger trend in scholarship highlighting the relational and interdependent nature of leadership and business. A growing body of evidence identifies humility as vital to effective organisational leadership, facilitating positive organisational outcomes, such as lower voluntary turnover and greater follower job satisfaction. To date, research on the subject has focused on certain specific organisational contexts, including businesses, hospitals, and schools. This paper reviews the existing literature and explores why humility may be an especially important leader trait in international humanitarian aid organisations and relief work-a context that is not only uniquely challenging, but also one that would seemingly stand to benefit keenly from the quality. It argues that humility is essential for effective leadership because it is normative of good character, it is predictive of positive outcomes, and it corresponds to a genuine representation of the nature of humanitarian aid.

Mental health distress in homebound older adults: Importance of the aging network.

Homebound older adults may be at risk of suicide due to elevated loneliness, social isolation, and depression. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide posits that thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and reduced fear of death are key components of suicide risk. To better understand suicide risk among culturally diverse, homebound older adults, we collected baseline data on the prevalence of psychological distress, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and past/present suicidality. Standardized measures were completed by 493 adults (ages 60-103) during in-home interviews, and results were compared to existing cutoffs to assess current risk. In total, 15.62% scored above the suicide risk cutoff, 23.73% of homebound older adults reported a history of suicidal ideation or behavior, 65 adults in this sample (13.18%) indicated the possibility of attempting suicide in the future, and 2.43% described a future attempt as "likely" or "very likely." There were no differences in suicide risk, thwarted belongingness, or perceived burdensomeness based on sex and race. However, there was a significant difference in psychological distress (F(3,428) = 2.624, p = .05), with White females (M = 7.90, SD = 5.63; N = 78) scoring higher than Black males (M = 5.43, SD = 5.04; N = 81). Using Aging Network services such as nutrition services (e.g.home-delivered meal programs) to intervene with at-risk older adults represents a strategy to prevent suicide. Implications for suicide intervention, including the potential to deliver services by linking them to nutrition services programs, are discussed.