CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Two nurses from the University of Virginia's School of Nursing are looking into the needs of transgender-identified senior citizens.

Cathy Campbell, a faculty member at the UVA School of Nursing, produced the case study with Lauren Catlett, a Ph.D. student at the UVA School of Nursing.

The case study took over a year to publish and focused on a book titled, "Little Star." The book is based on the story of a local transgender-identified elder named Carmelita.

Catlett cared for Carmelita while she was in hospice and supported her through the end of her life.

"The book really started out as a series of iPhone conversations and then together they decided what poetry, what art would be in the book so the book came to life," Campbell said. "She was there to connect with herself, as an artist, as a woman and reconnect with her family."

Campbell said there's data that suggests many senior citizens transition at a later stage in their life.

"People who are 65 years of age or older, who identify as transgender, 97 percent of those people transitioned after the age of 55," she said.

Campbell and Catlett wrote the case study to feature this information, including Carmelita's story, for future reference.

Through the case study, Campbell said safety and support are the main areas transgender-identified seniors look for from their support groups.

"Safety as a spiritual need that people don't feel safe to reveal their gender identity or people are very afraid when they go to a doctor's office or a nurse practitioner's office," said Campbell. "Ask questions. Ask people about their preferred pronouns."

Through this case study, Campbell hopes people can see the spiritual care transgender-identified seniors need as they continue to live their lives.

"They will not be alone. They will have the care and support they need," Campbell said.

Campbell shares the book with her class to give them a perspective on how to treat transgender-identified senior citizens.

She hopes to do a larger study on the topic in the future.