Physical tests based on combat tasks: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Abstract Aim: Military personnel needs to develop and maintain the ability to perform specific mechanical actions, under the risk of not fulfilling their assignments and failing in their missions. Considering the importance of being able to evaluate whether the military is ready for their jobs, studies have been conducted to establish assessments based on the requirements of the tasks performed in combat, referred to as Combat Tasks (CTs), giving rise to Simulated Tasks (STs). This study aimed to understand how physical STs have been used among military personnel worldwide. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify literature published between 2001 and 2021 that investigated STs. The search criteria for articles (keywords, inclusion, and exclusion) were applied to five databases - PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science - and the PRISMA recommendations were followed. Results: The searches resulted in 2630 documents, in addition to two studies that came from other sources. After the removal of duplicates, 1216 studies were screened by title and abstract, resulting in 71 documents, which were read in full. In the end, 17 studies were selected for the qualitative analysis. Conclusion: From the data obtained, the results highlighted that six countries with well-structured Armed Forces have been investing in research to develop physical assessments based on CTs, showing a paradigm break regarding conventional physical tests, which ultimately prove to be adequate to measure general fitness levels and issues related to health, but are not sufficient to ensure readiness for the performance of specific military activities.